What Could Have Been
by Silent Steps in Silver Snow
Summary: She would have saved the Clans. An unborn kit was foretold by StarClan to become the strongest leader any Clan had ever seen...But something went wrong, and the kit was stillborn. So StarClan chose her sister to take her place. But it's a lot of stress for one cat, to be trained for something unknown. Especially when the cat who must learn to rule a Clan was never destined to...
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was midnight in the camp. Fireflies flickered through the air, filling the empty space with tiny stars like the ones that shone above, in the velvet swath of the never-ending sky. The moon hung high up, floating with the stars and casting beautiful silver light on the world around them. Almost all the cats were asleep, but in the center of the clearing, a golden tom paced back and forth, tail swishing in worry. Every now and then, he would glance over at a large den woven of brambles. The den was silent, and that was most of what worried him. The tip of a silver tail peeked through the tiny opening that served as the entrance to the den, which was of course the nursery. The tail was perfectly still, portraying neither worry or excitement or fear. But Silversong was a good medicine cat. The golden tom was sure that his mate and unborn kits would be safe in her paws. A quiet squeak pierced the darkness. Tail bushing out in surprise, the tom raced over to the den, eyes wide.

"Well?" He whispered urgently, "how many?"

Silversong's blue eyes peered out through the darkness. They were filled with worry. "You need to come in here, Sunheart," she replied quietly.

Nervously, Sunheart struggled to fit his broad shoulders in through the small entrance, finally emerging into the enormous space inside. Mintwing, his mate, lay on her side in a nest of moss. She was out cold. "Don't worry about her," Silversong mewed, "she'll be fine. She's just tired. But look at your kits."

There were two, both female. One suckled, occasionally piercing the silence with a tiny mewl. Her fur was white with splashes of gray and ginger. Her tail was fluffy and tipped with black. She was strong, he could tell. But the other one—a beautiful silver she-cat—lay still, unmoving, limp in the moss…

"I'm so sorry," Silversong whispered, "but there was nothing I could do to save her." The sleek she-cat stared at the ground, downcast. She was the only medicine cat since her mentor, Rainclaw, retired a moon ago. This was her first kit-birth without the help of the experienced tom. No doubt she felt horrible about the stillborn she-kit.

Sunheart, in despair, leaned down to nuzzle the tiny form of his daughter, only to be shocked back; As his nose touched her forehead, scenes flashed through his mind—The kit, full-grown, dipping her nose into the Moonpool. Her blue eyes shone with knowledge as she sat atop the Highledge a moment later. There were battles, war… Fights between two groups of cats, both led by the same two cats, over and over again. Then, the sleek form of the she-cat that was his daughter leading her cats forward, into the midst of the fight. The scenes sped up, faster and faster, until there was a bright flash of light and he found himself back in the dark nursery with Silversong beside him. Her luminous eyes watched him carefully as he gasped, "What—What was that?"

Silversong sighed. "This was a mistake," she replied. "This kit was not supposed to die. She would have grown into the best leader ever seen by any Clan at any time. She would have saved all of us from a bloody war… Between who, I do not know. She was not supposed to die. But now, we may be doomed."

Sunheart sighed, staring desolately down at his one remaining kit, who seemed unfazed by the death of her sister and suckled happily at Mintwing's belly. A gasp from Silversong made the tom glance over at the medicine cat, who was in turn staring down at his living daughter like he had been. Cautiously, he glanced over at her and nearly jumped in shock. From underneath the tiny kit's body, a green stem was unfurling, curling up her back and into the air, spreading into leaves, forming a pale bud, and then blossoming into a pure white lily. The flower seemed to emit a light of its own, casting it down on the tiny kit before the petals dropped off, one by one, falling onto the downy pelt of the she-kit. Each one evaporated into moonlight when it touched her fur until nothing remained. The light faded and the tiny kit broke away from her milk and curled into Mintwing's soft belly fur without a sound.

"Silversong?" Sunheart breathed, hoping the she-cat had an answer for this strange phenomenon.

The medicine cat looked over at him. "A sign," she replied. "StarClan has given this kit their blessing. The great leader is dead. Our ancestors have chosen her sister, the blood of the Leader, as the one who must fill her place. She will have to be trained for this standard and she will never measure up to what her sister would have been, but she is all there is. The Clans are doomed unless she can become what StarClan needs her to be."

"High standards," Sunheart remarked, staring down at the kit.

"She has no choice," Silversong replied grimly, "or the age of the Clans will end."

A/n: So, what did you guys think? I'm a little rusty at fanfiction, since I haven't written one in a while, but I think this turned out all right c: Now, review! You know you want to… Thanks for reading!

-Silence


	2. Chapter 1

A/n: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I guess Cindershadow can say 'I told you so' because I wasn't expecting as many as 6! Thanks to Geasswolf, Samus of the Cranes(or Vampires), Cindershadow, The Storm-Mist Account, Tallstar07 and Shiningheart of ThunderClan! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review if you did c:

Chapter 1

"Lilykit, Icekit, stop playing with your food!"

"Wha'?" Lilykit looked up from the game of catch she was playing with her best friend, only to fall back into the pale, powdery coating of snow on the ground as the scrawny mouse hit her in the face and sent her sprawling. "Ow!"

"It's leaf-bare," Mintwing continued, emerging from the nursery to stand between the two kits, "and food is scarce. Be thankful for that mouse."

"But it's just a game!" Lilykit protested. "We're gonna eat it eventually!"

"You still must learn to show respect for every living thing in the forest, Lilykit," Mintwing replied. "That is something a good lea- er, warrior must know." She turned and vanished back into the nursery, leaving Lilykit to stare grumpily at the mouse.

"Why doesn't Brightflower ever lecture _you _on all that stuff?" she grumbled. "It's not fair!"

"I dunno." Icekit, obviously unconcerned, pricked up her white ears. "Wanna keep playing?"

Lilykit was about to nod enthusiastically before her belly broke in with a huge rumble. "Actually, can we eat it now? I'm getting hungry."

"Okay!" Icekit bounded over and picked the mouse out of the snow, where it had been gradually soaking up moisture from the thick flakes. "Ew." She took the mouse by the tail and shook it back and forth. "Let's eat this in the nursery," she mewed around the mouse, "it's too cold out here." She turned, and Lilykit followed her into the bramble thicket where they slept. Inside, Brightflower, Mintwing and the new queen Redfur conversed quietly. Redfur's two kits, Willowkit and Ravenkit, played with each other in a corner, but they were too young to go outside in the cold, wet snow. Cloudbreeze, the other queen, wasn't in the den, but her three tom-kits Eggkit, Hawkkit and Palekit wrestled together near the entrance to the nursery. Lilykit and Icekit settled in an opposite corner to eat their meal. They were alike in many ways—Both were only kits, and Icekit was only half a moon older than Lilykit. They'd been best friends ever since Lilykit opened her eyes. Today was the day they were splitting up, though—Icekit was six moons old, and Lilykit was only five and a half. That meant that Icekit would become an apprentice at sunhigh.

"Are you excited about being a 'paw?" Lilykit asked as she struggled to pull some stringy meat off of the remaining mouse carcass.

"Yeah," Icekit replied coolly, though her dark blue eyes shone with excitement. "I wonder who my mentor will be."

"I bet it'll be someone great! Maybe Oaktail or Snowpelt or even Sunheart!"

"Yeah, but Sunheart's the deputy," Icekit shrugged. Then a slightly dreamy look came over her face, and she giggled. "Maybe Lightfur…"

"Lightfur's only been a warrior for half a moon, silly," Lilykit replied, trying to ignore the weird look on her friend's face. "It probably won't be him."

Icekit sighed and shook herself out of it. "Probably not," she agreed, looking a little downcast.

Brightflower came up behind them, interrupting the conversation as she picked Icekit up by the scruff and dragged her back over to where the rest of the queens were talking. Icekit had one chance to give Lilykit a look like, _help!_ Before she was pounced upon by all the queens trying to clean her pelt before she became an apprentice.

Lilykit laughed to herself, finished up the mouse and then left the den to get a good seat for her friend's apprentice ceremony. Her father, Sunheart, was just emerging from Talonstar's den, where he had no doubt been talking about the ceremony, and Lilykit felt an excited tingle for Icekit. Lucky she-cat, becoming an apprentice today! With a feeling of dread, Lilykit realized she would be the oldest kit by 3 moons until her own apprentice ceremony. That meant half a moon spent with Eggkit, Hawkkit, Palekit, Ravenkit and Willowkit all to herself. Yay. The two current apprentices, Nightpaw and Sparkpaw, sat together outside the apprentice den, talking excitedly. Nightpaw was a jet-black tom with bright amber eyes and a strong build. He was two and a half moons older than Lilykit. She'd always felt something in her toes when she looked at him—A little shudder in her heart that caused her toes to curl and for her ears to grow hot whenever he looked at her. It wasn't something she could put a name to. When she thought about it and wondered what it was, she was able to shrug it off and not let it get in the way of the fast friendship they'd had since the big snow three moons ago. Then what was it that made it so hard for her to meet his eyes?

Then, there was Sparkpaw, with a brown tabby pelt and amber eyes. He was, to put it simply, a jerk. A cute jerk, but still a jerk. He caught her looking in their direction and snarled at her. Lilykit spat back; Nightpaw looked up in surprise and there it was again: That funny little tingling feeling. She felt her ears grow hot, but to cover up the still unnamed feeling, she narrowed her eyes at Sparkpaw and stalked away to sit near the base of Highledge, where she would be able to see Icekit's ceremony well.

Right on cue, Talonstar emerged from his den and stood at the peak of the Highledge. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" He was a relatively young leader, and he didn't look the part at all—Talonstar was ridiculously fluffy, with masses of ginger fur that stuck out every which way. He was nice. Since her father was his deputy and good friend, she'd met him a few times when he came to see her as a kit. He acted just like a regular warrior to her, so it was funny seeing him up on the Highledge.

The other cats began to gather around the base of the tall ledge, and Lilykit saw Icekit emerge from her den. She looked amazing—Her fur was groomed to silky perfection, and shone like the snow around her. Her ears were pricked and she glanced at Lilykit, dark blue eyes full of excitement. Her tail swished slightly as she sat down at the edge of the crowd, and Lilykit could see that she was struggling to restrain her excitement.

"Today," Talonstar began, "I have gathered you all here to witness a ceremony long-celebrated by the cats of the Clans. For today, we will show that we still have life, even in leaf-bare, by celebrating the apprenticeship of two kits!"

The Clan cheered; Lilykit exchanged a confused look with Icekit, before realizing that two apprentices meant the two oldest kits… And Lilykit was one of them.

Oh.

Hastily, the she-cat struggled to lick down the gray and ginger patches on her pelt before the cheering died down. She was shaking with nervousness. What if she didn't know what to do?

Talonstar continued, "Lilykit and Icekit, please come forward."

Lilykit followed her friend until both stood in the shadow of the Highledge. Talonstar continued, "Lilykit, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Lilypaw. StarClan knows you are young for this, and so your mentor will have to be a warrior of high tolerance and patience." His eyes sparkled with amusement, and a few cats laughed. "That is why I have chosen Stormstrike as your mentor. I know he will train you well."

Lilypaw's eyes lit up as the well-muscled gray tom emerged from the crowd. He was born a kittypet, but no one ever even brought it up. He had been the willing 'kit-sitter' for the queens multiple times since Lilypaw was born, and she had grown to love his sense of humor and fun. She touched noses with him and both withdrew into the crowd, leaving only Icekit. That was how it was supposed to be from the beginning. Lilypaw was happy—and relieved—that she was an apprentice, but why was she starting her training early?

"Now," Talonstar continued, "Icekit, from this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Icepaw. It has been a long while since I have mentored a cat, so I will be your mentor." With that, he leaped to the ground and touched noses with a shocked but pleased Icepaw.

The Clan began to chant, "Lilypaw! Icepaw! Lilypaw! Icepaw!"

Lilykit looked over at Stormstrike. "Can I go talk to Icepaw?" She asked.

He nodded. "Sure," he replied, "but don't be long. We're going for a tour of the territory soon."

With an 'okay', Lilypaw dashed over to Icepaw, who's eyes were bright with excitement. "You're an apprentice early!" She purred.

"And your mentor is the leader!" Lilypaw replied with excitement.

Nightpaw, Sparkpaw trailing behind with a grumpy expression on his face, came over and nodded to Icepaw. "Congrats on being apprenticed to the leader!" He purred. "And you—" he turned to Lilypaw, "You're an apprentice early! Thought I wouldn't have to deal with you for another half moon, neh?" He licked her forehead, and she laughed a little bit, though she was fairly sure her ears would burst into flame any second, they were so hot.

"Lilypaw!" The pastel calico turned at the sound of Stormstrike's voice. "C'mon, we're going now!" He called.

"Gotta go." Lilypaw told her friends. "See you later." And she raced off to join her new mentor at the thorn tunnel out of camp.

A/n: Phew! Okay, FINALLY done. Don't go expecting chapters of this length every day… That would just about drive me crazy! I thought I'd never be done with this one XD Ah, well. Since it IS over, please drop a review! Opinions on everything, please C: Like, what are the thoughts on her name? Early apprenticeship? Ooh, what about Nightpaw? He's been in Lily's story since the beginning. Can't deny I have a lil' soft spot for him c: Anyways, review review review!


	3. Chapter 2

A/n: 8 reviews for the last chapter, plus a few more on the first! This makes for… 14 reviews on 2 chapters? That's way better than I was expecting! Thank you a bunch, everyone c:

Chapter 2

Lilypaw, feet dragging, followed Stormstrike through the thorn tunnel and back into camp. Her paws ached from the long tour through a clawlength of icy snow and she was shivering and hungry. "You picked a bad time to become an apprentice," Stormstrike joked. "Go get something to eat and warm yourself up. Moonhigh patrol tonight, and we start training tomorrow. Get some sleep." He turned and walked away, leaving Lilykit shivering in the snow. The sun was setting, casting golden rays that reflected off the snow and cast everything into a pale, shimmery light. Lilypaw picked a scrawny thrush off of the pile and brought it into the apprentice den. Icepaw and Sparkpaw were in there, but Nightpaw wasn't. The two had obviously been talking, and when Lilypaw walked in, Icepaw sprang up in surprise, embarrassment in her eyes. "H-hi, Lilypaw!" she stuttered. "Welcome back! How was the territory?"

Lilypaw raised one eyebrow in skepticism, but retired to a far nest to eat her thrush. Something was obviously going on between those two. She ripped savagely at her thrush, struggling to swallow the stringy meat as she thought about it. After a few heartbeats, she looked down at the battered carcass of her meal and wondered what she was so worked up over. It was a different feeling that made her toes curl and her ears flatten. She wished she was older, so she could understand it. A rush of cold air entered the den as Nightpaw entered empty-pawed. "Hey, Nightpaw," Icepaw greeted him. "Where's your food?"

"Gave mine to the elders." Nightpaw shrugged, "I can go a night without food."

"You can share mine." The words slipped out before Lilypaw could check them, but she didn't fully regret it as the black tom smiled and came over to join her. She pushed the remains towards him. "You can have it. I'm not really hungry."

"Are you sure?" Nightpaw asked, but he looked down at the prey with hunger in his eyes.

"I'm sure. I'm just going to go to sleep." Lilypaw replied, yawning.

"'Night, Lilypaw." Icepaw replied, "sleep well."

The new apprentice found an empty next that didn't smell of anyone and curled up with her paws over her nose so it didn't freeze off in the night. It felt like she blinked, but next thing she knew it was dark out and a voice was whispering "Lilypaw!"

The she-cat opened her eyes and saw Stormstrike poking his head in. "Moonhigh patrol, remember? Get up."

Lilypaw sleepily made a face at her mentor's retreating back and then dragged her paws out of the den and into the clearing. It was beautiful out. Few pawsteps littered the snow on the ground around them, and it had started to snow. Tiny white flakes drifted down around her. High above, at the lip of the stone hollow, the trees were dark blue, standing tall in the stillness. It was a night where you felt like you had to be completely silent or you would destroy the peace. So Lilypaw did her best. Letting the frigid snow muffle her steps, she headed towards the camp exit. Another pair of pawsteps led into the warrior's den, showing where Stormstrike had gone to gather the rest of the patrol. In the silence, she suddenly heard a voice, coming from Talonstar's den. Quickly looking around to make sure no one was near, she slunk nearer and pricked her ears to hear better.

"…So you're saying that it was her sister?" Lilypaw blinked in surprise; it was Stormstrike! Then who was gathering the rest of the patrol?

"Yes. Well, it was supposed to be." Silversong's hushed voice followed, tinted with sadness.

"So StarClan chose her as…"

"A replacement." Talonstar's mew finished. "Nothing special about the poor thing."

"So it's my job to prepare her for something ultimately impossible?" Stormstrike's words were a little harsher now, filled with anger.

Lilypaw shrank back. They were talking about _her!_ And sister? What sister? She was an only kit. Surely they didn't assume she was related to Icepaw? _It would explain my early apprenticeship… _She shrugged, deciding to bring it up with Stormstrike later so that he could make sure that they knew she wasn't Icepaw's sister. Of course, there was a tiny doubt nagging at her mind that they were talking about something different than that. What was all this about "a replacement"? Talonstar's words rang in her ears: _A replacement. Nothing special about the poor thing."_

That stung. Lilypaw flattened her ears and withdrew a few paces back, trying to forget everything she had heard. When Stormstrike emerged from the den a few heartbeats later, she had done her best to turn her face into a mask of cold—Which wasn't hard. But Stormstrike saw the hurt in her eyes. She could tell. He stepped forward and nudged her to her paws. "Just the two of us tonight," he told her.

She managed a nod and followed the stocky gray tom through the thorn tunnel. Her paws had numbed from sitting in the snow, and she felt nothing as Stormstrike led her towards the ShadowClan border. They had been walking in silence for a few minutes before Stormstrike stopped and sighed, "how much did you hear, little one?"

Lilypaw stared down at the snow and quietly replied, "I heard Talonstar say that I was nothing special. I heard him say something about my sister… I don't have a sister!" And I heard you talking to them about how training me would be impossible." She felt broken inside. All cats are talked about behind their backs at some time or another, but these had been some of the highest-ranking cats that mattered to her… Saying she wasn't special.

Stormstrike padded over to her and sat down in front of her. "You didn't hear what you thought you heard," he replied quietly, raising one paw and tilting her head up so his eyes met hers. "Yes, you did have a sister… But she was stillborn, so you never knew her. As for the rest, it is complicated, too much so for a warrior like me to understand. But I promise that what you thought was said wasn't actually said in the context you assumed."

"Are you sure?" Lilypaw asked.

He smiled a little bit. "I'm sure, Lilypaw. Are you all right now?"

"I… I think so. But, my sister… Did she have a name?"

Stormstrike nodded. "Your mother called her Moonkit, because she had a pelt as pure of a color as Silversong's and a tiny dark gray marking like a crescent moon on her face."

"Oh." Looking back on it, Lilypaw could almost believe that there was something missing. Like… Someone was supposed to be there, who wasn't. It was sort of an empty shadow, a whisper of memory, something not quite right, not quite complete... _I guess it has a name now,_ Lilypaw reflected moodily. _Moonkit._ _Or… Moonpaw?_ Yes, if her sister had lived, she probably would have become apprentice early with Lilypaw and Icepaw.

Stormstrike touched her shoulder with his tail-tip. "Don't worry about it, all right?" He meowed, concern in his amber eyes. "Everything is okay."

Hesitantly, Lilypaw got to her feet and followed her mentor through the rest of the border patrol, feeling hollow. No matter what the context, the words 'she's nothing special' seemed a little cruel and insensitive. As soon as they reached camp again, Stormstrike told her that she would have the morning to sleep, and that training would start after sunhigh. She was glad that he could tell that she really wasn't okay. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep for the rest of her life. She wandered into the den, suddenly limp with exhaustion. Dimly registering a pair of amber eyes in the gloom, she flopped down in her nest, and then shifted because her paws were so cold and damp that she couldn't sleep on them. Resigning to an uncomfortable night of sleep, she stuck her paws out from under her, tried her best to snuggle down in the nest. Finally, she drifted into sleep.

A/n: That turned out waaay longer than I intended it to XP I kept trying to end it but it kept needing to be resolved, so… Sorry the ending's a bit rushed XD Anyways, thoughts and such? Crane, keep your ConCrit moderately friendly, please D: I'm aware that this chapter sorta sucked. Anyways, hope you liked it, and please make sure to review if you did! I always appreciate it, and reviews are what keep me goin'! C:

-Tabby


	4. Chapter 3

A/n: Aaahhh getting so many more reviews than I expected to! Thanks a bajillion, guys C: It really means a lot to me ^-^

When Lilypaw awoke the next morning, pale shafts of morning light filtered in through a thick coat of snow over the entire den. Despite the frigid temperatures outside, the thick layer of powder over the whole den combined with the body heat of all the apprentices made it quite warm. Lilypaw discovered that she was the only one left in the den, she struggled to her paws, only to discover that someone had put fresh, thick moss over her in the night to keep her warm. Her paws were unfrozen and warm. Purring, she bent down to sniff the moss, wondering who had done that for her. It smelled like Nightpaw. Knowing that he had done something like that for her made a blush creep up her cheeks, and she closed her eyes in slight embarrassment, but she was happy, too. Again, that weird, tingly feeling crept up her spine, but she still had no idea what it was.

Shrugging it off, she emerged into the sunlight in time to hear Sunheart ordering the patrols out for the day.

"Today," he called, "all four mentors and their apprentices will work together in the training hollow. If you aren't one, stay here to be assigned a morning or afternoon patrol."

Lilypaw peeled off from the group to join Sparkpaw, Icepaw and Nightpaw by the thorn tunnel. "Hi, guys!" She purred, painfully aware of the fact that she was—by far—the smallest cat in the group. Since last night, she felt even smaller. But still, they were all her friends. Well, maybe not Sparkpaw. Sparkpaw wasn't really anybody's friend. Then again, he was sitting oddly close to Icepaw…

"Hey, Lilypaw," Nighpaw smiled. "How are you?"

Once again, the small she-cat avoided meeting his glace as she replied, "I'm good, thanks," in a barely audible voice. She was still unsure of what her feelings for him were, and she somehow knew that if she wasn't careful, she'd make a complete and utter idiot of herself in front of him and then feel embarrassed for the rest of her life. She started to make a mental list of all the things she felt whenever he looked at her or talked to her. _Let's see… Embarrassment, clumsiness, shyness…_ she still couldn't put a name to it. Oh, well.

Stormstrike, accompanied by Twigpelt, Stormfoot and Talonstar, padded forward to join the group of apprentices. "Are you all ready?" He asked. "We're going to be doing battle simulation today. I know some of you—" he looked over at Lilypaw—"Haven't had battle training yet, but we'll make sure that more experienced cats are with less experienced cats so that the teams are fair. Let's go!" He led them out of the camp; Lilypaw trailed behind without noticing, still thinking.

"Are you okay?" Nightpaw's voice startled her back to consciousness. She glanced over at him, registered the concern in his eyes, and then _whump!___Tripped over a root and hit the ground face first. "Woah!" Nightpaw jumped over and pulled her gently up by her scruff. "Are you okay?"

"I… I…" Lilypaw blinked up at the jet-black tom, feeling the shyness overcoming her again. She was so embarrassed that he had seen that! Why couldn't she act less clumsy around Nightpaw, like the way Icepaw was around Sparkpaw? Why couldn't she be as beautiful and graceful around the black tom as Icepaw was around Sparkpaw?

The feeling hit her again, with the force of a ton of boulders shoved on top of her chest at once. She'd compared herself and Nightpaw to Icepaw and Sparkpaw…

She was so stupid.

_I like Nightpaw, _she realized. _Oh… _It all made sense to her, when she started to think about it. The way she always tried to not embarrass herself around him, the way she felt whenever he looked at her or did something nice for her…

Well, it was nice to know what the feeling was, but she wasn't sure she welcomed it. _Now I have to worry even more about it,_ she sighed inwardly, _because now I know what it is._ Because she had finally been able to realize that she liked him, the first thought that jumped into her mind was, of course, _Does he like me back? _He never seemed to have issues with the whole embarrassment thing like she did. Sighing, she resolved to ask Icepaw about it later, but tried to push it back and avoid looking at Nightpaw until she'd gotten some advice from Icepaw. She tried to pick up her pace a little bit without tripping over anything until she was a little ahead of Nightpaw. They arrived at the training hollow soon after, and everyone settled down on the mossy ground while Stormstrike explained the exercise.

"The way this will work," he began, "is that we will split into two teams. Each team will have a 'leader' and a 'deputy', the two apprentices. One team will be on that side-" he pointed to one end, where a small grove of beech trees grew out of the moss- "and the other team will be on that side," he continued, pointing to where a large clump of ferns grew. "I have two feathers right here, and each team gets one." He laid the feathers on the mossy ground. "Team one will be Lilypaw, Sparkpaw, Talonstar and Twigpelt. Team two will be Icepaw, Nightpaw, Stonefoot and myself. Team one, take the ferns. Team two, the beech trees. Each team take a feather. The goal is to get the other team's feather to your side. Each team is allowed to leave one cat to guard the feather, no more. They can hide the feather, but don't pick somewhere out of the hollow or very high up. Go!"

Lilypaw leaned down and picked up the long, silky pheasant feather in her jaws, before following the others to the far side of the clearing. The ferns were dripping with melted snow, and the moss was cold and wet, though there was no actual frozen snow left because of the tree cover above them. The rest of her team had gathered in a hollow beneath the ferns, and Lilypaw hesitantly joined them, aware that her tail was sticking out and slowly getting soaked in the wet moss.

"Okay," Sparkpaw meowed, instantly taking control. "I'll be leader, and Lilypaw will be deputy."

"Hold on—" Talonstar interrupted, but Lilypaw quietly broke in.

"It's fine."

He gave her a skeptical look. "All right." He dipped his head to Sparkpaw. "What's the plan?"

Sparkpaw's eyes glinted. "I was thinking we leave Talonstar here to guard the feather, since he's strong. Then, Twigpelt and I will charge whoever is guarding the feather, while Lilypaw sneaks around the edge, grabs it and bolts back." He looked at her. "You're fast, right?"

Self-consciously, she nodded a little bit. "I guess so."

"And you're smaller than the rest of us," Twigpelt added. "That's an advantage. You'll be able to slip around the edge."

"Wait," Lilypaw realized, turning to Sparkpaw. "What if they hide their feather instead of guard it, and are we going to hide or guard ours?"

"Well," Twigpelt began casually, pulling back his claw to reveal a swath of moss attached by one end that lifted up, "if you wanted to hide it…"

Sparkpaw grinned. "Brilliant."

Talonstar shuffled around to the front, blocking the other team's view while they carefully stowed the feather inside and tamped it down to make it look untouched. "Should we leave a decoy guard here?" Sparkpaw asked. He turned to Lilypaw. "You're my deputy. What do you think?"

"Uh…"

"ATTACK!" The yowl came from the other side of the mossy hollow, and suddenly Talonstar was flung forward as Icepaw tackled him from behind.

"Wait, we're starting?" Lilypaw yelped, panicking, but Sparkpaw shot her a look.

"GO!"

Lilypaw flung herself out of the way of Icepaw and Talonstar's fight and hugged the side of the mossy hollow, glad for the shadows that blended in with the gray on her pelt. If only she could do something about the white on her fur… Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a mud patch, hidden in the shadows at the edge of the training hollow. _StarClan help me, I'm going crazy,_ she thought to herself. Before she could lose her resolve, she flung herself into the mud, rolled in it and then slunk through the shadows towards where the feather was a few tail-lengths up in a beech tree. Stonefoot stood below, guarding it. _Aren't Sparkpaw and Twigpelt supposed to attack now?_ She wondered. She settled back into a sheltered alcove. They still didn't attack. _Okay… _Lilypaw considered it and then weighed the options. Deciding she had a chance, the tiny mud-covered she cat shot out of the shadows, yowling, and catapulted herself onto Stonefoot. The surprised tom went down easily, and Lilypaw found herself standing on his belly. She prepared to spring up, claw up the tree and get the feather, and then imagined herself single-handedly winning the battle for her team. It felt good.

There was a small growl from Stonefoot as the tom braced his hind legs under her and pushed off. Surprised, the she-cat flew through the air much further than she expected to. _He didn't realize I was so light,_ she thought to herself as she flew through the air, landing with an undignified _squish _right on top of Icepaw.

"What? Who are you?" Icepaw yowled as Lilypaw rocketed off of her and pelted back towards the beech trees. Sparkpaw and Twigpelt had finally attacked, but Stonefoot had some mud on him from Lilykit's fur, and it made him slippery. The three cats all bore traces of mud, and all three slipped around like fish, trying to grapple with each other to no avail. Lilykit crept around the three toms and started to climb the beech tree, taking advantage of each knot. But before she'd even made it halfway, she felt gentle teeth grab her tail. She glanced down to see Stormstrike, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, holding onto her tail and gently pulling her down.

Lilypaw, unfazed, flicked mud off of her left paw and felt him let go as he was spattered in the face with muddy, mossy slush. Crowing with pride, she grabbed the feather and jumped off the tree, much like she had been flung off by Stonefoot. She hit the ground on her side, but scrambled up and dashed for the ferns. Proudly dropping the quail feather from the other team at her paws, she yowled, "we win!"

The battle stopped instantly, and Sparkpaw, whose face was smudged with mud, called out, "Good job!"

Stormstrike's eyes were shining with amusement and pride. "Good job with the mud, little one." He laughed.

Lilypaw grinned sheepishly, and then realized that she must look like some kind of mud monster. Staring down at her pelt, she couldn't hold back a little embarrassed chuckle. "Heh…"

"Well done, Lilypaw," Talonstar purred. "But I think you've got us all looking a bit like MudClan warriors now."

Lilypaw blushed, but she was laughing as Nightpaw, Icepaw and Sparkpaw all crowded around her. They were all talking to each other and to her. Lilypaw smiled, because it made her feel less like a premature outcast and more like a ThunderClan apprentice.

"Smart thinking, Lilypaw!" Icepaw purred. "When you hit me in the back, I couldn't figure out what was going on. By the time I did, you were already gone!"

Sparkpaw looked at her skeptically. "She almost cost us the battle by uncovering our feather a little bit," he started, and Lilypaw felt her heart drop, "but it was all right when I realized that she had the other team's feather."

"All right, Talonstar mewed, stepping into their conversation, "it's all fun and games, but the queens will have a fit if we come back to camp like this. I guess it's time ThunderClan cats learned to swim."

Lilypaw and Icepaw exchanged a glance, and Lilypaw could tell they were thinking the same thing: _Shoot._

A/n: I'm pretty sure that's the longest yet! I think it turned out really well, and the 'fight' scene was SO MUCH FUN to write! If you liked it—or even if you didn't—please review! I really appreciate it :)

-Tabby


	5. Chapter 4

A/n: Well, I went to bed last night after having written and posted Chapter 3 with like, 2 reviews on the new chapter. Got up this morning and I had about 5 new reviews ^-^ Thank you guys so much for all of the support! This one is from Talonstar's POV. I thought it would be interesting… Hope you like it!

Talonstar emerged from his den and leaped onto the Highledge, which was still covered in snow. Fortunately, there was enough fur on his paws to keep them protected a little from the cold, wet slush. It was just before sunrise, and his deputy was already below, arranging patrols. Talonstar noted that Sunheart didn't put Icepaw on a patrol. _Good, _he thought. _I will be able to train her today._

He spotted his apprentice emerging from the apprentice den next to the little early apprentice, Lilypaw. He had given her apprenticeship early in the hopes that Stormstrike would be able to train her right from the beginning how to be a good leader. So far, she had been less disappointed with her than he thought he would be. He prided himself on being non-judgmental, but occasionally it slipped. He had just never been able to see Lilypaw as a leader. The day before, she had definitely done a lot to help her team win the 'battle', but she had done it on her own, without consulting anyone else. That was good, but a leader needs to learn how to work with their Clan. If Lilypaw became leader and led all the attacks on her own with no battle patrol, she'd be dead within moons.

The fluffy ginger tom sighed and decided to talk to Stormstrike about it later. He wanted to know that he would be leaving his Clan in good paws, and he knew Sunheart would make a fine leader after him, but after that? Of course, Sunheart was there when Moonkit was stillborn and StarClan chose Lilykit in her place. It wasn't her fault. Talonstar felt a twinge of sympathy for the kit, who still didn't know about StarClan's choice for her. Not for the first time, Talonstar questioned their choice. _Maybe I should travel to the Moonpool,_ he thought, _and see if I can talk to the great leader herself._ Of course, the kit had been stillborn, but in StarClan one became wise. He could only hope that little Moonkit would be able to help him.

Nodding to himself, he stood up and announced, "ThunderClan! I must travel to the Moonpool. Sunheart, you are in charge until I get back."

The golden tom nodded solemnly. Murmurs broke out amongst the cats. One called out, "will anyone else be coming with you? What about the tradition of bringing apprentices to the Moonpool before they become warriors?"

Talonstar nodded to Lightfur, who had spoken, and called, "yes. I will take Lilypaw with me."

Below him, the small she-cat exchanged a look with Icepaw, then glanced up at him nervously.

Talonstar jumped down from the Highledge and padded over to Lilypaw. "Go get your strengthening herbs from Silversong," he mewed.

The she cat nodded, looking flustered, and dashed away. _What is she on her toes about?_ Talonstar wondered. _Surely it's not me. She used to jump on me every time I came to visit her mother in the nursery. She probably isn't afraid of me because of the fact that I'm leader… What did I do?_ He sighed, and sat down to wait for her to come out. _I'll ask Stormstrike later. _

Soon, the small she-cat emerged, swishing her tail and gagging down the last of a daisy leaf. A little shred of dark green hung from her whiskers, and she batted it off while making a face. As soon as she caught sight of him, her eyes widened and she seemed to almost fold into herself. The paw that had been flicking at her whiskers hit the ground and she dipped her head.

"Ready to go?" Talonstar asked gently, reminding himself that he was still dealing with a kit, not an apprentice. _I should have waited._

She nodded quietly, so he turned and left camp, able to hear the small sound of her footsteps as she followed him silently towards the Moonpool.

*INSERT LINEBREAK HERE*

When Talonstar and Lilypaw finally emerged into the small hollow, the moon was already rising. "You may sit wherever," Talonstar told her kindly; She promptly sat down right where she was, ears sagging with exhaustion. She still hadn't said anything, and Talonstar was really wondering what he'd done. Quietly, he sat by the edge of the Moonpool and waited for the moon to reach its peak. He closed his eyes and waited in the peaceful silence as tiny flakes of snow began to fall around them. It was getting very cold. Soon, the dens would be fortified and every cat's pelt would grow thicker for the long winter ahead.

The blinding white flash came suddenly, and Talonstar opened his eyes to see the hollow bathed in bright light. _It's time._ He crouched down, touching his nose to the water and felt his eyelids grow heavy.

"Open your eyes, Talonstar. Haven't you done this enough to know that already?" The voice was light, teasing and filled with amusement.

Talonstar's eyes flew open. A pretty light gray she-cat stood in front of him, starlight in her paws. "Cloudfur!" He purred, leaping up to touch noses with her.

"Hello, love," she replied, licking his cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he smiled, "but I came here looking for someone."

"Right. Yes." Cloudfur turned her head and called, "Moonkit!"  
A sleek, full-grown she-cat stepped out of the undergrowth and dipped her head towards Talonstar. "Hello."

"You're Moonkit?" He gaped. "But she—you—died before you were born!"

"Exactly."

_Doesn't make much sense to me, _Talonstar grumbled inwardly. _But then again, nothing in StarClan makes sense to me. _Out loud, he mewed, "I needed to ask you for advice on Lilypaw."

Moonkit nodded. "I understand. You need to be careful, Talonstar. She's not even 6 moons old yet. Starting her training early may have been a mistake."

He hung his head. "I know. But I don't know how to prepare her for something that she wasn't destined to be!"

The silver she-cat sighed. "You can only hope that Stormstrike does his job well. Lilypaw is the one who will save the Clans. That is all that we know."

"All that you know? But that's not enough!"

"It will have to be." Moonkit looked at him sadly. "I am sorry, Talonstar."

Then his vision went black.

When he woke up, it was just past moonhigh. Lilypaw hadn't moved, though she was a little bit more hunched over. There was a faint dusting of snow all over her body. _Why did I bring her again? _He wondered. _Did I expect her to come up to the Moonpool herself and learn what was going on that way?_ He sighed. Even so many lifetimes after his death, there were still stories told about the great Firestar and how he became leader. There was one story a few elders still told about how Firepaw had gone with the leader at the time, Bluestar, to the old Moonpool, which was a stone deep underground. They told of how he himself had touched the Moonstone and talked to StarClan. _I suppose I just expected her to do that, too. _He sighed. Since she clearly hadn't, there hadn't been any point in bringing her here. And now, the poor thing looked like she was frozen solid.

He walked over to her. "We're going back, now," he told her. "I'm sorry that the weather was so bad tonight."

She let out a tiny sneeze and then slowly got to her paws to follow him. Every few pawsteps, he would look back to make sure she was all right. Once, she fell down and when he came to help her up, he realized she was shaking. After that, he stayed next to her and nudged her forward. As soon as they got back to camp in the early hours before dawn, he took her right to Silversong's den.

She woke with a yawn and stood up. "Welcome back, Talonstar. What do you-" She caught sight of Lilypaw. "You idiot, taking a kit out to the Moonpool at this time of year! Come in, little one." She nudged Lilypaw into the den and then gave Talonstar a scathing glare.

_Mintwing's gonna kill me. _

A/n: I know that there were a lot of awkward sentences in there D: DON'T HURT MEEEE. Anyways, I officially have 30 reviews! Yaaay, thank you so much everyone C: Don't forget to review this one, too! :3


	6. Chapter 5

A/n: Aaaahhhh… 43 reviews already? Thank you so much, guys! I've given up replying to each one, but I really appreciate it when you DO review, so if you already do, please keep doing so and if you don't yet, please consider it! Alerts and favorites are nice, but I really appreciate reviews, too! ^-^ We're going back to Lilypaw's POV now… All right, hope you enjoy the chapter! /EDIT: So sorry this didn't go up sooner! I've been at my friend's house, and my crappy computer HATES her Internet, so I didn't have access until now v_v

When Lilypaw awoke, she had the initial sensation of being burned, and then frozen. There was a coat of moss over her, and she was shivering despite it being incredibly warm in her little nest.

"Easy, Lilypaw. You've had a bit of a chill." Silversong's soothing voice came from somewhere behind her. "Your fever's dropped, but I need you to eat these." The silver she-cat appeared in Lilypaw's field of vision and dropped a few herbs in front of Lilypaw's nose. "Eat them."

Sleepily, Lilypaw licked up the leaves and yawned. "What…?"

"It got very cold out when Talonstar took you to the Moonpool," Silversong mewed, "and you nearly froze. I told him he was an idiot, taking a kit out there in the dead of winter."

"But I'm an apprentice!" she protested weakly.

"Technically, you're still kit-age. You're nearly 6 moons, but not quite yet. Even then, it would have been a bad idea."

"Why did he pick me to come, then?"

"I'll explain to you later." Silversong replied, a little darkly.

Lilypaw's mind was still a little blurred with fever, but she wondered to herself, _now what?_ First it was Talonstar, then it seemed like Stormstrike was keeping secrets, and now even Silversong!

"Get some sleep," Silversong commanded. "You need your rest, or this could turn to Whitecough." She gave Lilypaw a few poppy seeds, and the little she-cat felt herself drift off into sleep in a few heartbeats.

*LINEBREAK*

"Is she going to be okay?"

When Lilykit drowsily awoke from a deep, dreamless sleep, late afternoon rays shone into the medicine den, rippling as the wind blew through the trees. Icepaw, Sparkpaw and Nightpaw stood nearby, talking to Silversong.

Nightpaw was the first to glance up. "Lilypaw!" He mewed, bounding over. "You're awake!"

"How do you feel?" Icepaw asked, running over a moment later with Sparkpaw in tow. The brown tabby tom sighed.

"These two have been worried sick about you," he sighed.

"Don't talk as if you weren't!" Icepaw snorted back.

Lilypaw almost smiled a little, to hear all of her friends—Even, she supposed, Sparkpaw, though she'd never officially thought of him as her 'friend'. "I'm fine," she croaked. "Just have a little fever."

"Nightpaw saw you coming back with Talonstar this morning!" Icepaw mewed. "He said you looked like you were frozen solid! We came as soon as we got back from training."

"What did you guys do today?" Lilypaw asked.

"Hunting practice," Icepaw purred. "Talonstar says I'm a natural tree-climber! Caught a bird, too!"

"Cool," Lilypaw smiled a little bit. "Sounds like it was fun."

"Don't worry," Nightpaw jumped in, "you'll be training again soon. Right, Silversong?" He asked, turning to the she-cat, who was sorting herbs in the back of the cave.

"Oh, no." Silversong looked up and shook her head. "I've talked to Talonstar, and Lilypaw—You're still a quarter moon away from being 6 moons old. We're going to wait to resume your training until then."

"What?" Lilypaw jumped up, but collapsed back almost immediately. "But—"

"You can't just make her an apprentice and then decide she can't train!" Nightpaw protested.

"It's not fair!" Icepaw jumped in.

"I'm sorry," Silversong replied, shaking her head, "but that is the decision. Now, my patient needs to sleep and this is not helping, so all of you get out!" She made a shooing motion with her paw, and Lilypaw watched as all of her friends left. She sighed, accepted the poppy seeds from Silversong, and fell asleep again.

*LINEBREAK*

Icepaw's POV

"I can't believe this!" Icepaw hissed, sitting between Nightpaw and Sparkpaw as they ate their meal—A mouse to split between the three of them.

Sparkpaw nodded, swallowing a shred of the tough meat before replying, "I mean, she's a bit annoying sometimes, but that's just rude of them."

Nightpaw snorted. "You're one to talk about rudeness, Sparkpaw."

The brown tabby tom whipped around and glared at Nightpaw. "'Scuse me?"

Nightpaw shrugged mildly. "Nothing."

Icepaw nearly choked on her mouse, she was trying so hard not to laugh. "Anyways," she continued, after much choking, "do you think there's anything we can do?"

"Technically, she IS supposed to still be in the nursery right now," Sparkpaw put in.  
"Yes, well, they made the choice of apprenticing her early. Shouldn't they have to go through with it?" Nightpaw asked; Icepaw nodded.

"I agree. Do you think talking to Talonstar would do anything?"

"We could try, but it's only a quarter moon," Sparkpaw added, "and then she'll be back. And am I seriously the ONLY one who wouldn't mind a quarter moon without her in the den?"

Nightpaw and Icepaw glared at him.

"Sorry, sorry." Sparkpaw rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Anyways."

"Right," Icepaw mewed. "I think we should talk to Talonstar. Maybe he'll tell us why she got apprenticed early in the first place."

"Does she even know?" Nightpaw asked.

Icepaw shook her head. "She didn't even know she was becoming an apprentice until Talonstar called her up at the ceremony."

"There's something funny going on, then."

"I don't think Talonstar would tell us…" Sparkpaw added in. "I mean, it might have something to do with 'the will of StarClan' or whatever it is they use as an excuse."

"Sparkpaw!" Icepaw cuffed him over the ear. "Don't say things like that!"

"Sorry."

"Maybe he just thought it wouldn't be fair to leave her in the nursery for an extra half moon," Nightpaw mewed. "I mean, the other kits are really little. Perhaps he just thought it would be better for her to join us."

"Yes, but then you would think he would have considered it harder before taking her to the Moonpool in the middle of leaf-bare!" Icepaw licked her paw and drew it over her ears. "I think she should get some rest and then be able to start out as a real apprentice when she's officially 6 moons."

Nightpaw sighed. "I guess you're right."

Sparkpaw glanced around. "Again, am I the only one who's going to appreciate that?"

"Yes," Nightpaw snapped. "What, exactly, do you have against her?"

Sparkpaw shrugged. "She's small, usually bouncy and annoying. That makes for a sleepless night for me." He glanced at Nightpaw, "but of course, you see nothing bad in her."

Icepaw glanced at Nightpaw, seeing him shuffle his paws a little bit. She hid a grin. _I knew it!_

"I think you've got your tail in a twist over nothing," NIghtpaw replied a little hastily, getting flustered and defensive. "Lilypaw is sweet and friendly, and I think you're just jealous that she's able to make friends more easily than you."

Icepaw blinked at the tom, surprised at the burst of fierceness.

Sparkpaw spat, got up and left, tail swishing back and forth in anger.

"That was a little too far, Nightpaw," Icepaw chided him gently.

Nightpaw sighed. "I know."

"Sparkpaw will be over it soon. I'll go talk to him."

"He'll listen to you for sure," Nightpaw smirked.

Icepaw felt a blush creep up her cheeks. "Shut up," she growled jokingly, trying to walk away with her dignity at least partially intact. She followed Sparkpaw's pawprints out of the camp and into the forest. He had taken shelter under a bush next to the lake and was staring out across the water, unmoving.

"Are you okay?" Icepaw asked quietly, padding up beside him and sitting down.

He glanced over at her, before returning his gaze to the water. "Yeah, I'm all right."

"You sure?" Icepaw mewed. "You seemed a little upset when Nightpaw said that."

"It's… nothing…" Sparkpaw sighed.

"I don't think that's true," Icepaw said quietly. "Something he said hit you, didn't it?"

Sparkpaw stared down at the ground. "I mean, it's just… I just have so much trouble making friends or talking to anyone. You guys are my only friends."

"And Lilypaw," Icepaw prompted.

"She just… I don't even like her! She's annoying, but I think we're friends. At least, on her end. She makes friends easily. I just…"

"Well…" Icepaw started nervously. _This makes no sense,_ she sighed inwardly. _What is he on about? Toms make no sense. _"I think you're good at making friends."

"Really?" He blinked over at her.

"Really." She smiled and licked his cheek. He shot her a look of conflicted happiness and smiled a little bit. _I will never understand him, _Icepaw thought to herself, but out loud she mewed, "C'mon. Let's go back to camp."

A/n: Flkadfaoidfpoai I'm not even sure I like this that much v_v Oh, well. REVIEWPLZTHANKSBYE.

BY THE WAY- I ALREADY FINISHED THE NEXT CHAPTER, BUT IT WON'T BE UPLOADED UNTIL I GET 5 REVIEWS. C:


	7. Chapter 6

A/n: All right, for this one I'm going to skip about a moon, so that they're a little bit older, etc. We're finally going to start getting to the plot here, and I'm excited about that! :3 So, I hope you enjoy it. Please review if you do! (Haha, that rhymed ^-^)

"Hold your tail steady. Remember that even the slightest move wrong and you've lost your prey. This time of the season, it's especially hard because of all the snow. Good! Much better!"

Lilypaw and Stormstrike were practicing the hunting crouch in the mossy hollow. Leaf-bare had struck hard, leaving all the Clans weaker and more vulnerable. Icepaw had gone to the last Gathering, a moon ago, and she said that all the tensions were high and that RiverClan and ShadowClan were starting to get in large disputes. If something wasn't done soon, Icepaw said, the Clans could start a war at any second.

"Lilypaw!"

She looked up. "What?"

"Your tail is moving again."

"Sorry." Concentrating on holding it perfectly still above the several claw-lengths of snow, she stalked forward carefully and slowly, eyes focused on a little dead fern poking up above the white powder. One more step, and she leaped up, clear of the snow, and hit the fern with all four paws.

"Good job!" Stormstrike mewed, padding over. "That's enough practice for today."

"What?" Lilypaw asked, "but it's barely past sunhigh!"  
"I know," Stormstrike said. "I _said _that's enough _practice._ Time to put those skills to use."

"Really?" Lilypaw perked up; She always enjoyed hunting excursions, but it seemed like Stormstrike worked her more on her fighting than her hunting. She still sometimes caught him coming out of Talonstar's den with a worried expression on her face; Usually, after that, he would work her extra hard on something or other for the next few days.

"We're going hunting by the lake. Let's go!"

Happily, Lilypaw followed Stormstrike out of the mossy hollow and towards the lake. As she passed under a bush, her tail hit the branch above her and she squeaked in surprise as a lump of snow fell down on top of her. "Help! The snow is attacking me!" She writhed around in the freezing slush before Stormstrike came and pulled her out.

"Stop playing around," he mewed sternly. "We're going hunting for our Clan. You need to take this more seriously."

Lilypaw stared at her mentor, mouth agape. "Wha'? I wasn't playing around! It just fell on me!" _What bit his tail this time?_

"Then be more careful. A real warrior knows how to avoid falling snow." He turned and left, leaving Lilypaw to hurry after him.

This new side of her mentor surprised her. He'd been fine that morning, but she made one little slip up and suddenly, he was completely different. This wasn't the first time, either. Just a few sunrises ago, he had gotten angry at her for forgetting to change the elder's bedding.

_"You can't just ignore your chores when you don't feel like doing them! Or have you forgotten your duty to the Clan?"_

He had been talking to her as if she were a leader, not an 8-moon-old apprentice. _What's with him now?  
_"All right, time for you to hunt. I'm going off to hunt this way," Stormstrike said, pointing with his tail, "and you hunt around here. I expect at least 3 pieces of prey when I come back to take you back to camp."

Lilypaw dipped her head. "Yes, Stormstrike."

He vanished through the bushes, and Lilypaw sighed and began to listen for prey.

She caught the scuffle of tiny paws in a clump of brambles and caught the scent of vole. Dropping into a half-crouch like Stormstrike had showed her, she carefully snuck towards the bush. The scuffles continued as she took one more step and then leaped. She crushed the brambles down on top of the poor thing, which struggled around, squeaking in terror. She almost yowled out loud as several thorns pierced her pawpads, but she managed to deliver the killing blow and drag the vole out from the brambles. She buried it beneath a tree and then stopped to lick her paws, which stung and were filled with thorns. She pulled at least four out of both paws, and then stuck them deep into the snow to numb the pain. As she waited for them to stop hurting, she was aware of the time passing, too fast for her liking. If she didn't catch three pieces of prey, who _knew_ what Stormstrike would do. Probably make her clean the elder's bedding again.

Her next catch was a rather fat pigeon that she caught by surprise as it fluttered out of a tree. She buried it next to the vole and was just ready to start looking for her next prey when she caught Stormstrike's scent. She spun around just as he emerged from the bushes with two mice and a thrush in his mouth. He set them down and mewed, "Well? Where's your catch?"

Nervously, she dug out the pigeon and the vole and laid them down in front of her.

"Only two?"

"Yes," she mewed quietly. "I'm sorry."

"What were you doing this whole time?"

"I got my paws full of thorns. I had to pull them all out."

He sighed. "A true leader must learn to deal with the pain, Lilypaw."

"What do you mean, a true leader?"

Stormstrike's eyes widened. "Nothing. Nothing. I meant warrior."

"No, you didn't! You have to explain now. You said something. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you, Lilypaw." Stormstrike shook his head.

"You have to! It's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair. Get used to it." Stormstrike picked up his prey and left.

Snarling, Lilypaw grabbed her pigeon and vole and followed him back. When she arrived back at camp and put them on the meager fresh-kill pile, Stormstrike mewed, "I want you to share a piece of prey with another apprentice tonight. There isn't enough to go around."

Lilypaw dipped her head, but she wasn't really hungry. Instead, she had an idea. _If Stormstrike won't tell me, maybe Talonstar will…_

The ginger tom was in his den when Lilypaw poked her head in. He was sitting quietly in his nest, and he looked like he was thinking hard. "Hello, Lilypaw." He mewed absentmindedly.

"I need to talk to you." She sat down at the edge of the den. He looked over at her.

"Oh? What about?"

"Well, today when Stormstrike and I were training, he wanted me to catch 3 pieces of prey. I only caught 2 because I had to stop and pull some thorns out of my paw. When I told him that, he said, 'A true leader must learn to deal with the pain' but when I asked him, he wouldn't tell me what he meant! Can you please explain? I mean, you know what he's talking about, don't you?"

Talonstar sighed. "Lilypaw, you're only 8 moons old. You wouldn't understand yet."

"Argh!" Lilypaw stomped one foot on the floor of the cave. "If it concerns me, I have the _right _to know! If you won't tell me, I'll find someone who can."

"Lilypaw-"

But she left. _I'll try Silversong next,_ she thought. It was no use. The she-cat just said the same thing that Talonstar had—that she wouldn't understand yet, and she didn't need to know.

_Who else would know? _Lilypaw wondered for the fiftieth time. _Someone must know what this weird prophecy thing is about. That's what it must be, right? Some kind of prophecy. Who would know about prophecies?_ She could always ask an elder, but they just told a lot of stories that probably didn't have any context. The medicine cat had refused, so had the leader. Well, that left only one source. Lilypaw had never talked to StarClan before, but that was the only answer. _This is going to drive me crazy if I don't find out._ So when no one was paying attention, she slipped out of camp and started the journey to the Moonpool.

She had only been there once, when she'd had strengthening herbs and there was much less snow on the ground. Still, she tried her best, and by backtracking and almost freezing herself completely, she made it up to the Moonpool. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to do some kind of ritual or something—Did StarClan need that? So she just did what Talonstar had done. Crouching next to the water, Lilypaw cautiously lapped up a little bit of the water and instantly fell asleep.

A/n: Just cliffy-ing you all a little bit XD Sorryyyy but it's necessary :P I'm just too lazy to put that in until the next chapter. So…. Thoughts? Opinions? I'm curious, people. TELL MEEE!

-Tabby


	8. Chapter 7

A/n: Writing lots of chapters. I AM ON A ROLL 8D

/Edit: Had a few people tell meh not to demand reviews D: Sorry if I came off that way! Thinking back on it, saying 'REVIEWPLZTHANKSBYE' does look like a demand XD Don't review unless you want to c: Thanks, DahliaStarr and Mistyflower68 for pointing that out. I'll be sure to watch myself next time ^-^

Lilypaw sat for what felt like lifetimes with her eyes closed and her nose to the water, waiting for something to happen. Finally, she felt a paw touch her shoulder. "Wake up."

"Huh?" Lilypaw opened her eyes and looked up into the eyes of a beautiful silver she-cat who looked a little bit like Silversong. "Who are you?"

"I am Moonkit," she replied with a smile.

"You're my sister? But you're all grown up and you don't look anything like me!" Lilypaw gaped, staring at her.

"I assure you, it's true." Moonkit sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. She had very pretty pale blue eyes and a small crescent moon shape that curved just under her right eye. "Why are you here?"

"I need to know what's going on!" Lilypaw sighed. "No one is telling me, but I figured that StarClan would know. Can you _please _tell me?"

Moonkit sighed and got to her feet. "I can't, but someone else can explain it perfectly. Follow me." She vanished into the underbrush, leaving Lilypaw to scramble after her.

"Who is it?" She asked as she followed her sister (apparently) through the bushes of StarClan territory.

"Her name is Bluestar. She was ThunderClan's leader a very, very long time ago."

"Oh." Lilypaw followed Moonkit in silence until they reached a small clearing shaded by bright green ferns. A creek ran along the edge, bubbling over waterfalls and rocks before splashing into a crystal-clear pool. On a moss-covered rock near the edge, a beautiful gray-blue she-cat sat, staring into the water. She looked up as Moonkit and Lilypaw entered the clearing.

"Ah, Lilypaw." She mewed, standing up. "Welcome." Lilypaw dipped her head. "You are here for answers." It was not a question; Bluestar knew why she was here.

"Yes, I am," Lilypaw replied. "I need to know what's going on. No one will tell me!"

Bluestar sighed. "I cannot tell you that, little one."

"What? But-"

"Hush, Lilypaw. There will be a time when you will find out. For now, you must accept your ignorance and train hard."

"But they said I was going to be a leader!"

Bluestar looked sad. "It was not your destiny."

"What? What do you mean, 'was not'? Is it now? Can't you tell me anything?"

"I'm sorry, Lilypaw. That is all we can tell you."

And Lilypaw woke up beside the Moonpool with her paws frozen to the stone. _Oh, great,_ she thought to herself, trying to pull her paws out of the edge of the Moonpool, which had frozen. _This is not good._ It was nearly sunrise, she had been out of camp without telling anyone since sunset of the previous day, and she had no reason for having been gone. She yanked at her paws one last time and they came free with a cracking sound. Sighing, she began the trek down the slope and back home. On her way, she caught two mice as a cover story for where she'd been.

When Lilypaw arrived back in camp, a few cats were talking nervously amongst themselves, but when they saw her she was swarmed by anxious warriors all going, "Where were you?"

"I went hunting, but then it started to get dark and really, really cold, so I slept in a hollow tree and came back as fast as I could this morning." Lilypaw told everyone. "I'm fine."

"Lilypaw!" It was Nightpaw, accompanied by Icepaw and Sparkpaw. "We've been looking for you!"

"Icepaw got worried when you didn't come into the den," Sparkpaw mewed. "Are you all right?"

Lilypaw blinked, a little surprised. _Did Sparkpaw just ask if I was all right?_ "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine."

"We were so worried!" Nightpaw licked her ear, and she blushed. "Are you sore after sleeping in the tree all night?"

"What? Oh, er… Not really. My shoulder aches a little bit, but it's nothing that needs medicine. I'm fine."

"We're just glad you're okay," Icepaw purred.

"Lilypaw!" The stern voice came from behind her, and she turned to see Stormstrike striding towards her.

"Hi, Stormstrike." Lilypaw wanted to collapse into herself. _I don't want him to be angry at me…_

"We're going to train with the other apprentices today. Make sure you're ready to go at sunhigh."

"Okay." Lilypaw nodded, then turned to her friends in excitement. "I finally get to train with you guys again!"

"Great!" Icepaw mewed. Nightpaw purred in agreement, and even Sparkpaw smiled.

"You should go see Silversong about your shoulder," Nightpaw suggested, "before we go and train."

"No, it'll be fine."

"You have to go! Just do it for us, please?" Icepaw asked.

_I can't refuse without them realizing I made it up._ Sighing, Lilypaw gave in. "All right," she mewed.

When she entered the medicine cat den, Silversong told Sparkpaw, Icepaw and Nightpaw to wait outside. "It'll only take a moment." She ushered Lilypaw to the back of her den, started to apply some herbs, and then told her, "I know you were at the Moonpool. I told you not to go looking for answers."

"What? How did you know that?"

"I can smell it on you."

"Oh." Lilypaw hung her head. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know, and no one will tell me…"

"You shouldn't have gone to the Moonpool last night, Lilypaw. I won't tell Talonstar about it this time, but any more mysterious 'overnight hunting trips' from you, and I'll make sure he knows where you've been."

"Yes, Silversong." Lilypaw left the den and returned to where the other apprentices sat.

"She said I should just rest until we go train," Lilypaw lied. "So… I guess I should just go back to the apprentice's den."

"We'll come, too."

Despite the warmth of the den, Lilypaw shivered as she huddled in her nest. "Are you cold?" Nightpaw asked.

Lilypaw nodded. "A bit."

"Here." Nightpaw came over and pressed his pelt against hers; Suddenly, it was just a little _too _warm. But Lilypaw purred.

"Thanks."

A/n: I knowwwww this was waaaay too short v_v Next chapter's gonna get more interesting (and hopefully, longer). I promise!


	9. Chapter 8

A/n: Time for stuff to get interesting! I've sort of been rapidly posting chapters as of yesterday, so sorry if that puts you off of reviewing each one v_v

ALSO, GUYS: I just looked at the story stats for this thing. 57 reviews, 9 favorites, 413 hits and 11 alerts! This is the 5th day I've had this story up. Thank you SO much for all the support, guys! It makes me feel loved ^-^

"Roll! Duck! Jump! That's it, good!" Stormstrike called from the edge of the mossy hollow. Lilypaw sat up, panting, and grinned at her mentor. He'd lightened up a bit since her Moonpool escapade 3 nights ago, but he was starting to train her extra hard. Every night, Lilypaw wondered about the time he'd said that she would be a leader, but she had done what Bluestar requested and didn't question it.

"What's next?" Lilypaw asked.

"Time for you to try it out on me," Stormstrike mewed, jumping down into the hollow and standing about four tail-lengths away from her. "Attack me."

Lilypaw jumped forward, aiming for his head, but at the last moment swiped one paw across his front legs. He was temporarily unbalanced, so she rolled over him, ducked to the side and jumped onto his back, pushing him into the snow. After three heartbeats, she got off. "How was that?"

"Good job!" Stormstrike purred. "Here's the next move." He demonstrated it—It was one with a lot of airborne strikes, something that Lilypaw often struggled with. "I want you to try that one, now. I know you don't like doing leaping moves, but it is required that you know them."

Lilypaw nodded and tried the move. On the first swipe, she extended her paw too far forward and hit the ground unbalanced and early.

"That's okay. Try again," Stormstrike encouraged.

She tried again, with the same results.

"Again!"

Lilypaw tried the move until all her muscles hurt and her paws were numb, and finally she did the complete move in a way that Stormstrike deemed 'satisfactory'.

"I thought it was pretty good," she muttered.

"It was, for a first try. You just need to keep working."

"I have been!"

"Calm down, Lilypaw. You have to learn to better control your temper."

Muttering mutinously, she agreed to try.

"Good. Now, let's go back to camp. Talonstar is announcing the cats for tomorrow night's Gathering."

Lilypaw's ears pricked up. She hadn't been to a Gathering yet. Maybe this time, she'd be lucky.

Talonstar had just called the Clan together when she emerged into the camp with Stormstrike behind her.

"The cats going to the Gathering will be Silversong, Lightfur, Snowpelt, Mintwing, Oaktail, Mossfoot, Dustfur, Leafwhisper, Sparkpaw and Lilypaw."

_Woohoo! _Lilypaw couldn't resist purring in excitement. Finally, she would be going to a Gathering!

The Clan broke up, and Stormstrike told her, "get some sleep. It'll be a late night for you."

"Yes, Stormstrike." Lilypaw dipped her head before hurrying away to talk to Icepaw.

"Congrats!" She purred when Lilypaw approached. "You're lucky that you get to go."

"Because I'm going with Sparkpaw?" Lilypaw guessed.

Icepaw blinked. "What? No! Lilypaw, did you think that I liked him?"

"Well, I assumed so…" Lilypaw trailed off, confused.

Icepaw laughed. "No, silly! I never have. We're just really good friends."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah." Icepaw purred.

_Huh._

"Now, go get some rest before the Gathering! Talk to you later," Icepaw called over her shoulder as she walked away.

Lilypaw slipped into the den. Sparkpaw was already in there, curled up in a tight brown tabby ball. He was snoring a little bit. Yawning, she curled up in her own nest and fell asleep.

"Wake up!" Sparkpaw prodded her in the shoulder. "We're about to leave!"

"What?" Lilypaw opened her eyes, blinked in surprise and got up. "Sorry, I'm coming." She followed him out of the den, to where all the other cats who were going to the Gathering were. When Talonstar saw that they had arrived, he raised his tail and ThunderClan streamed out of the thorn tunnel and into the forest.

Lilypaw quickly fell behind, struggling to leap through the growing drifts of snow. She once again found herself in the position of being buried alive as one of the warriors in front of her knocked a pile of snow down behind him. "Help!" She kept struggling until she managed to pop free, and then she had to run really hard to catch up with everyone.

When they passed through the WindClan border to get to the Gathering island, she felt a small shudder. _This doesn't feel right, _she thought. _It still feels like we're trespassing._

When they were a few tail-lengths away from the tree bridge, the smell of cats hit Lilypaw in the face like a physical blow. There was the dark, musty scent of ShadowClan, the tang of WindClan and a disgusting smell that must be RiverClan. Talonstar flicked his ear and jumped up onto the tree. One at a time after him, everyone else jumped up and started to walk across until it was only Lilypaw and Sparkpaw left over. He jerked his head towards the bridge. "You go first."

"Thanks…. I think." Nervously, she hopped up onto the old tree trunk and started to cross. The wood was slippery and soft, so she dug her claws in, trembling, and hoped that nothing disturbed the bridge.

Naturally, the second Sparkpaw jumped up, Lilypaw squealed and fell off the bridge.

It was like being submerged in snow (and StarClan new _that_ wasn't unusual), only she couldn't breathe, she couldn't see and she could move, but where was up? Frantically, she scrabbled around in the dark murky water, trying to figure out where the surface was. Her brain was panicking, she was running out of air and it was so dark…

Dimly, she heard a splash and then felt teeth in her scruff and the struggling of some cat trying to get her head above water. They broke the surface with a splash, and Lilypaw took a deep gulp of air before they were submerged again. The cat began to pull her forward with strong, powerful strokes. She felt pebbles under her paws before she was hauled out of the lake and dumped onto the shore.

Mintwing ran over, frantically licking her kit as Lilypaw shuddered and coughed. "Are you okay? I was so scared when I saw you fall in—Then, when Sparkpaw jumped in after you, I was worried because I didn't think he could swim."

"I can't, but thanks for the vote of confidence." Sparkpaw's voice, hoarse and raspy, came from her other side, followed by a few coughs.

"I'm fine," Lilypaw coughed, struggling to sit up. _Brilliant way to start my first Gathering, _she sighed to herself.

Mintwing started to lick her dry, while Sparkpaw moodily shook himself out and then rasped his tongue over his own fur. When both of them were dry, Talonstar took the Clan in through the bushes. Sparkpaw walked alone at the back of the group, so Lilypaw nervously dropped back to where he was and muttered, "thanks for saving me."

"No problem." He shrugged.

They didn't say anything else, but when Lilypaw finally emerged into the clearing, she wasn't sure she wanted to leave his side, if only due to his experience at Gatherings. The island was crowded with cats—There were so many different scents that Lilypaw nearly gagged at first. When she _did _get used to it, she quietly followed Sparkpaw to where a group of apprentices sat. There seemed to be an argument going on. As Sparkpaw and Lilypaw walked over, a black she-cat was saying, "—Just saying that your Clan is full of filthy liars!"

"You should talk," spat a brown tom. "You and your friends are always throwing taunts at us over the border and then telling your mentors that you did nothing wrong when they appear! Of course, they wouldn't believe us even if WE talked, because RiverClan only sees to the ends of their own noses."

"Take it back, Mudpaw!" hissed a ginger-and-white she-cat sitting next to the black one.

"Hold on, you three." A pretty, lithe cream she-cat stepped in between the two arguing parties. "Can't you get along for the sake of the Gathering?"

Mudpaw swapped glares with the two RiverClan apprentices. "No," they all said at the same time. Then the argument resumed.

The most likely WindClan apprentice saw Sparkpaw and Lilypaw and trotted over. "Hi, Sparkpaw! Sorry about them. You know how it's been."

"Hey, Creampaw," Sparkpaw purred.

Creampaw seemed to spot Lilypaw. "Who's this?"

"That's my, er… Friend. Yeah. That's Lilypaw."

They swapped a nervous glance as Creampaw grinned. "First Gathering? You're a lot smaller than most of your Clan!"

Lilypaw shrugged. "I know."

"Creampaw!" The ginger-and-white RiverClan apprentice was yelling. "Please come tell this ShadowClan apprentice to—"

"Okay, that's nice, Mosspaw. No, I will not. Please get over it yourself." She turned back to Sparkpaw and Lilypaw. "Mosspaw, Minnowpaw and Mudpaw like to make a point of arguing with each other whenever they get the chance. Especially with tensions so high." She sighed.

"What's this dispute even about?" Lilypaw asked, hoping it wasn't too stupid of a question.

Sparkpaw turned to face her. "There were greencough outbreaks in both of the Clans. A RiverClan patrol found a piece of out-of-the-way territory that had a clump of something similar to catmint on it. It seemed to cure greencough just as well. The stuff was on ShadowClan land, just barely, so they remarked around it. It would've been fine if some RiverClan apprentice hadn't started boasting to ShadowClan how easy it had been. Then, ShadowClan wanted the herb. That's how this whole thing got started."

"So if one Clan gave the other the catmint territory, this would be all over?"

Creampaw sighed. "It's more than that now. Both Clans think that the other is a serious threat to their existence. I think they each actually want to wipe out the other Clan so that they aren't threatened any more."

"Really? That seems a bit extreme."

"Well, it's definitely getting a little out of hand." Creampaw glanced toward the Great Oak. "They're starting now. Let's go!" She led the way over to a spot where they could see the four leaders clearly outlined against the full moon. Lilypaw found herself squished a little bit between Sparkpaw and Creampaw as Talonstar stood to signify the beginning of the Gathering.

"ThunderClan is doing well," he mewed. "We have nothing to report."

The next cat, a golden-brown she-cat with amber eyes, stood. "That's our leader, Goldenstar," Creampaw whispered.

"WindClan has two new apprentices, Gorsepaw and Heatherpaw, a new litter of kits and some of our apprentices are nearing their final assessment. That is all."

"Gorsepaw! Heatherpaw!" The Clans cheered for a few heartbeats, before a dark gray tom stood.

Sparkpaw shuddered. "Shadedstar."

The ShadowClan leader began, "We are strong right now. Despite some Greencough nearby, none of our warriors have died, despite not having catmint, because ShadowClan is strong." He glared at the RiverClan leader as he said this.

Troutstar, a thick-muscled brown tabby, spat back "Our Clan is strong right now. Despite constant harassment from our neighbors, we are doing well. Two new litters of kits have been born, and we have a new warrior- Petalstorm."

A pale gray she-cat raised her head proudly as cats from RiverClan, WindClan and ThunderClan called her name.

Suddenly, there was a yowl. Mudpaw had tackled Mosspaw. The two had evidently been engaged in an argument during the whole thing. There was silence, before Minnowpaw jumped into the fight with her friend, and then a ShadowClan warrior joined the fight, and then the scene erupted in chaos.

"ThunderClan, get back! Do not fight! We are going home, NOW!" Talonstar's commanding yowl rang out above the battle. Lilypaw was knocked off her paws as two fighting cats practically rolled over her.

"Come on!" Sparkpaw grabbed her and started dragging her through the crowd until she regained her paws enough to scramble after him. Of course, on her way out she fell off the tree-bridge again, but Sparkpaw pulled her out and they kept running. Talonstar led his cats home at full sprint, so Lilypaw was still sopping wet but exhausted by the time they reached camp again. Cats were emerging from the dens when Lilypaw made it through the entrance. Nightpaw and Icepaw ran over.

"What's going on?"

"ShadowClan and RiverClan are fighting at the island." Lilypaw panted.

Sparkpaw looked up. "Not anymore they're not."  
Thick, dark gray clouds had begun to cover the sky. Suddenly, lighting flashed above them and it began to pour down thick, torrential rain. "Get into the den!" Nightpaw shouted. For what must have been the millionth time, Lilypaw was grabbed by her scruff and helped into the den.

The four of them sat in two of the largest nests, all shivering and sopping wet. Outside, thunder crashed and lightning lit up the night with flashes of bright white. The rain was coming down so hard that some of it started to leak through the roof. "StarClan has got some issues tonight," Nightpaw muttered, shaking his fur out before moving over to lick Lilypaw dry.

She purred at him as Icepaw added, "that must have been some fight."

"It was." Sparkpaw explained what had happened at the island and they talked about it until all of them had dry fur.

"We should patch these leaks," Lilypaw mewed as she observed the streams of water falling from the cracks in the yew branches.

Using scraps of moss from the unused nests, they all helped to make sure the den was leakless again. On Icepaw's suggestion, they adjusted some of the moss into one enormous nest around the base of the yew tree so that they could all sleep more soundly and warmly. Snuggled down into the warm, soft, dry moss between Icepaw and Nightpaw, Lilypaw fell asleep.

A/n: Yay! Another chapter :3 SO! Who likes LilyxSpark and who likes LilyxNight and who likes IcexSpark and who likes IcexNight? Personally, I'm rooting for Icepaw and Lightfur, but you never know =w=


	10. Chapter 9

A/n: Chapter 9 is here! Stuff's about to go down. Anyways. So, to all the people reading/favoriting/alerting this, I really appreciate it, but I write faster if I get reviews. I'm not demanding reviews, please know that... But when I'm writing the next chapter and I refresh my email inbox to find a little review waiting for me, it speeds up my writing because I know there are people out there who actually want to read this. So... Just remember that ._. I was kind of on the fence about posting this chapter because the last 3 or 4 chapters only have between 3 and 5 reviews each, so I want to wait and get more reviews on them, but I know that I'll get reviews on this one if I post it... Ah, anyways. Enjoy the chapter.

The next morning, it was still pouring. Nightpaw poked Lilypaw gently in the side to wake her up. "Morning," he whispered, licking her ear.

She purred. "Morning."

Icepaw was already up, dark blue eyes sparking with worry as she licked one paw and stared out into the rain. "Still raining," she sighed.

Sparkpaw emerged from behind the yew trunk and yawned. "How much longer is StarClan going to keep this up?" He asked.

"Maybe they're still fighting." Lilypaw shuddered to think of RiverClan and ShadowClan fighting in StarClan's sacred place all night, through torrents of rain and thunder… "Those Clans must be really mad at each other."

"Makes miserable weather for the rest of us." Icepaw stuck one paw out from under the den roof and drew it back. "It might as well be a waterfall out there."

"Well, I guess we better be prepared to get sopping wet today." Sparkpaw rolled his eyes and left the den. Icepaw shuddered and followed.

Nightpaw glanced over at Lilypaw (finally, she had started to grow a little bit so he didn't have to look down at her anymore!). "Ready?"

She sighed. "I guess so." She closed her eyes and ran out of the den. Almost instantly, she was blown sideways by the wind and soaked to the bone.

"Be careful!" Nightpaw called, pulling her back to his side and pressing against her.

Lilypaw shivered in the cold rain. _I'll never be dry again!_

Sunheart was making patrols beneath the Highledge, struggling to be heard above the thunder. "Lightfur, Snowpelt and Mintwing, take the WindClan border! I want all the apprentices to go hunting together and try and bring back prey for everyone! I'll send another patrol out later, but try and get as much as you can, as fast as you can."

"Fun." Sparkpaw rolled his eyes and they left the camp.

In the forest, everything was flying everywhere. Tree branches whipped around in the wind, leaves flew off the trees and plastered themselves against the first thing they hit, and a thick layer of mud covered the ground. "How are we supposed to do this?" Lilypaw shouted over the thunder.

"We could try looking in hollow trees and stuff!" Icepaw suggested loudly. "That could work!"

"We're being so loud I bet every animal just heard that!" Nightpaw put in loudly.

"I didn't hear any of what you guys just said," Sparkpaw yelled, "but okay!"

"Split up and try it!" Icepaw called.

Lilypaw focused on a thick tree with a hole several tail-lengths up. She had to be careful or she could end up hurting herself by falling, but she leaped up and scrabbled onto the branch. Upon sticking her head in, she discovered that she had cornered two squirrels. She killed both quickly and mercifully, hoping she hadn't scared them too badly. When she jumped back down to the ground with the squirrels in her mouth, she discovered she was the first one back. So she sat down under a fern to wait. Sparkpaw appeared first and sat down next to her—probably because she was in the only sheltered spot anywhere. He had a bird in his jaws that he set down next to Lilypaw's squirrels. Nightpaw appeared a moment later with three mice from a burrow he'd found. They waited for Icepaw to return for a while, but when no familiar white pelt appeared from the gloom, Lilypaw got a little worried.

"Should we go and look for her?" Lilypaw asked.

"Maybe," Sparkpaw replied. "I think it would be a good idea, but kind of stupid. How will we find her in this?"

"Her pelt stands out against 'this' like a fish on land. We'll find her." Lilypaw cautiously stepped out of the shelter of the ferns.

"Icepaw! Icepaw!" Nightpaw and Sparkpaw were both shouting her name; Lilypaw joined the call. "Icepaw!"

She looked everywhere—In trees, under bushes and everywhere in between, but Lilypaw saw no sign of the familiar white pelt. Suddenly, she heard Sparkpaw's yowl. "GET OVER HERE NOW, GUYS!"

Lilypaw bolted towards the sound of his voice, stumbling over logs and roots as she tried to find Sparkpaw. She discovered him standing in front of an enormous tree branch that had fallen from the Sky Oak. And beneath it…

"Icepaw? Icepaw!" Lilypaw ran forward and nuzzled her friend. Icepaw's blank eyes stared off into space and her head lolled when Lilypaw nudged it.

"I think…" Sparkpaw started, looking horrified.

"No!" Lilypaw spun around, screaming at him. "No! She's not dead! She's not…" She trailed off and lay down next Icepaw's limp body, sobbing quietly. After a moment, Sparkpaw padded up next to her.

"We need to get this tree branch off of her," he mewed.

A moment later, Nightpaw came skidding into the clearing. "Did you find her—Oh, no." Nightpaw raced over and nudged her. "Is she…?"

"You're not helping," Sparkpaw hissed. "We have to… to get her back to camp. Help me move this tree branch."

With three apprentices bracing their weight against it, they moved it off of Icepaw, who looked like she had just been coming back when the branch hit her. Two squirrels lay beside her. Nightpaw picked them up and Sparkpaw helped Lilypaw slowly take her back towards camp.

When they got back, no one knew at first what was going on. A few cats who had been outside saw it and ran over, asking what had happened. They put her body beneath the Highledge, out of the rain, so cats could begin their vigils. Lilypaw, still quietly crying, crouched down next to Icepaw's limp form, shivering. A moment later, another pelt pressed against hers, but she didn't bother to look up and see who it was. It didn't really matter.

When Brightflower arrived back at camp and saw her daughter's body, she screamed "NO!" and raced over. After that, every cat came out to see what had happened and to pay last respects to the apprentice. At nightfall, Lilypaw was still huddled next to Icepaw's form, still pressed against the comforting pelt next to her, still silently in denial.

_She can't be dead. This can't be happening. No, no, no, no, no…_

A/n: I was intending to kill Icepaw off when they were warriors, but this opportunity just jumped out and I was like 'okay'. By the way, I have no freaking idea what I'm doing in here. Imagine a monkey banging a keyboard on its head. That's pretty much the operation I have set up over here. So… I'll try and speed the plot along more. Don't forget to drop a review if you liked it!


	11. Chapter 10

A/n: Wow—69 reviews already? Holy moly, thank you guys so much ^-^ So. Very sorry for all you IcexSpark or IcexNight or IcexLight fans XD I thought it was necessary, though. She might reappear later, in StarClan or whatever. Anyways, we are nearing 100 reviews! :D Well, sort of. Not really. Oh, well. XD

Lilypaw didn't get a blink of sleep that night. The whole night, through the torrential rain, she stayed huddled next to her friend without moving. Nightpaw was still next to her the next morning. The rain had left up, and the world shone like the Moonpool in the bright leaf-bare sunlight. Some time during the night, when it had gotten colder, she had huddled closer against Nightpaw's side and felt him reassuringly press against her. He had made her feel much safer and—just maybe—taken away a little of the sadness. At one point in the night, when it had _really _hit her that her best friend was gone forever and that she would actually _never _see her again, she had become too overcome with memories and thick, horrible sadness and she had turned and buried her face in Nightpaw's pelt. She had felt the reassuring lick on her head through the drips of the rain around them and been glad that she had someone she knew she could trust next to her.

Blinking heavily, she stared down at Icepaw's fur before slowly looking up with a sigh.

"You all right?" Nightpaw asked from beside her.

"I—" _Wait. _That wasn't Nightpaw.

Her first surprise was that she had spent the entire night curled against Sparkpaw's side. The second one was much more of a shock: _I trust him. _She had felt so safe next to him, like she never had to worry about anything ever again.

"I… I think I'm all right."

"Good." Sparkpaw stared down at Icepaw. "I just… Can't believe she's gone."

Lilypaw buried her muzzle in Icepaw's cold fur. "Neither can I," she whispered.

Sparkpaw sighed, then crouched next to her again. "It'll be okay," he mewed. "It'll take some time, but we'll be all right."

Lilypaw nodded. "It just won't be the same."

"C'mon," he nudged her. "We probably have to go back to training."

The pastel calico she-cat glanced up at him with a little bit of gratefulness. "All right." She heaved herself to her paws.

With one last glance at Icepaw, Lilypaw forced herself to look away, but she stopped. "I just… This is the last time I'll ever see her." She whispered. "I don't want to leave her. Then they'll take her away."

Sparkpaw squeezed his eyes shut. "It's gonna hurt, Lilypaw. You gotta let her go."

She shuddered and took a deep breath. "You're right."

Nightpaw emerged from the apprentice's den. Lilypaw wasn't sure how long he'd been at the vigil since she'd thought Sparkpaw was him. He didn't look much better than Lilypaw imagined she did; it would take a long time for all of them to fully heal. Sparkpaw left to go get something from the fresh-kill pile and Lilypaw sat down heavily.

"Are you okay?" Nightpaw padded over to her and licked her ear, pressing his side against hers, but Lilypaw found herself flinching away. She didn't want the close contact.

"I'm fine," she mewed tensely. "I need to talk to Stormstrike."

Nightpaw backed off and looked away. After almost two moons of Nightpaw treating her like that, suddenly it just didn't feel right. She didn't want him to lick her ear, or press his fur against hers, or anything. She was starting to feel like it had maybe just been a silly kithood crush. Of course, she was only eight moons, but that was how it felt. She felt… Different. A little more grown-up. It was probably from Icepaw' death.

Stormstrike had emerged from the warrior's den and was eating a stringy mouse when Lilypaw walked over to him. "Are we training today?" she asked quietly.

He looked up. "Lilypaw! I didn't see you there."  
"Are we?" she repeated.

"You've had a rough night. I think you deserve today off."

Lilypaw hesitated. "Actually… I'd like to train today. To… you know, take my mind off of it."

Stormstrike watched her with gentle eyes. "I understand," he meowed. "I'm glad you're willing to work through this pain."

_Another leader trait?_ Lilypaw sighed; She still didn't know what all of that was about. _I thought it 'wasn't my destiny'._

Stormstrike finished his mouse and stood. "I'll find Stonefoot. We've been meaning to work you and Sparkpaw together on some fighting. He needs work on defense and you need work on offense."

"Okay." Lilypaw nodded and wandered back towards the apprentice den. She glanced at the fresh-kill pile as she walked by, but she wasn't hungry.

She sat down by the apprentice den, waiting and thinking. _I have to find someone to tell me about my destiny. _It was funny—She heard stories about great cats who were 'destined' to be leader. They had prophecies everything about them was 'special'.

She didn't feel special. She didn't feel like one of those prophecy cats. She just felt like an apprentice without a best friend. Her ears drooped a little as Talonstar's words echoed through her head again: _"She's nothing special, the poor thing."_ In all the elder's stories, this would be the part where the prophecy cat would promise to prove their leader wrong and prove that they were special. Well, Lilypaw didn't feel special and she certainly didn't want to. _I just want a normal life. _A life with a mate—Kits, maybe? She could have lots of friends, a long life as a warrior, a comfortable retirement and then, eventually, StarClan. Just another cat in ThunderClan.

_Stupid StarClan._

She would _not _be this prophecy cat, whatever the prophecy was. She would not take that path—StarClan could go find someone else to fulfill her destiny! Too bad for them. _I won't take part in this stupid game. _

"Lilypaw!" Stormstrike called from the other side of the clearing. She stood up and trotted over, trying not to look beneath the Highledge.

Stormstrike nodded. "We just have to wait for Stonefoot and Sparkpaw before we can go and train."

"Okay." Lilypaw settled down, back to Icepaw's dead body, and waited.

"I appreciate you being so brave, so the Clan doesn't suffer more."

"Oh, you think I'm doing this for the Clan?" Lilypaw stood up and gave him a disbelieving look. "Oh, no. I'm doing this for _me._ Because if I look back at her one more time, if I think about her, I might collapse into my own mind and never be able to escape from her. I am not doing this to be 'brave for my Clan'. I've never done anything purely for the benefit of my Clan." She looked away and flattened her ears. "Look, I don't know what you and Talonstar and Silversong all think I'm supposed to be doing, but here's some surprising news: I don't _want _to. I don't want to lead this Clan, no matter what StarClan says! It's clearly not my destiny."

"Oh? And why is that?" Stormstrike asked, a bit too patronizingly.

Lilypaw glared at him. "Because I don't want it to be. So you can just explain what in the name of StarClan is going on here and we can forget about it."

"That's not how destinies work, Lilypaw." Stormstrike mewed gently.

"Well then, you'd better explain mine because it makes _no sense."_ Lilypaw turned away, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes, and refused to look at Stormstrike.

"We're ready, Stormstrike." Stonefoot padded up, Sparkpaw in tow. He blinked at her, then trotted over as soon as the mentors started to lead them out of camp.

"Are… you okay?" He asked quietly.

"I'm tired of that question," she muttered, staring at the ground.

"Sorry." He grimaced.

Lilypaw sighed.

"Er… What were you and Stormstrike arguing about?" Sparkpaw asked hesitantly; Lilypaw looked over at him and saw real concern in his amber eyes.

"It's not important now. I'll tell you later."

A/n: Weird ending, I know. Don't hurt me D: I just wanted to get this chapter up, 'specially for Tangleflame ;) For plot reasons, next chapter is going to be about 2 moons into the future :P Also, VERY SORRY but this is probably the last chapter I'll upload for a few days… Going on a trip and I'm not allowed to bring my computer v_v But I'll have my iPod Touch and I will be able to look at my emails, so don't hesitate to review or PM me c:


	12. Chapter 11

A/n: So, I typed this off from something I wrote on my iPod Touch. Sorry if this is shorter than the others... It's hard to tell length on an iPod Touch.

"Eggpaw! Palepaw! Ravenpaw!" Lilypaw enthusiastically joined the chanting of her new denmates' names. Truthfully, she would rather it have been Willowkit and Rainkit so that there were some other she-cats in the den, but that was still a half-moon away. For now, she would be stuck in a den with five toms. Since Icepaw's death, she was the only she-cat apprentice.

As usual, thinking of her best friend made Lilypaw sad. Even recently, when she was patrolling or hunting or training or talking to her friends, she'd see or hear something that brought back a strong memory of Icepaw and she would just stop talking and moving and just sit there, lost in the memories. Whenever she was with Nightpaw and it happened, he would come over and try to gently shake her out of it by licking her ear or quietly saying, "c'mon, snap out of it." That was causing her to drift even further away from him. She didn't _want _to be shaken out of it! He tried to be her friend like he used to be, but it just wasn't the same.

That made her grateful for Sparkpaw, who she considere dot be one of her only close friends now. Often, they would go for walks through the forest together- just wandering around with no particular destination, for no particular reason. Whenever Lilypaw started thinking about Icepaw and stopped, he understood. He didn't try to touch her or talk to her or snap her out of it. He just waited for it to pass because he knew that that was what she needed, nothing more, nothing less.

"Lilypaw!"

Lilypaw turned around. "Hi, Sparkpaw!" She purred. "What's up?"

"I heard a couple of warriors talking. It sounds like the prey is returning!"

"And...?"

"So? Let's go hunting!" Sparkpaw meowed.

"Sounds like fun," Lilypaw replied. "Let's go!"

THe pastel calico led the way out of camp and into the woods. The last of the snow had finally melted, leaving behind the beginnings of a lush newleaf. Almost immediately, Sparkpaw caught a mouse. "Look how fat this one is," Lilypaw purred, poking it. "Haven't seen prey like this in moons."

"More will follow," Sparkpaw agreed as he buried it. They wandered together through the woods, catching whatever prey they saw and burying it for later.

"Thank StarClan that newleaf is here," Lilypaw purred. "I haven't seen such rich prey in-" she stopped, choking on her words and staring in horror at the clearing in front of her.

"Lilypaw?" Sparkpaw, who had been behind her, ran forward to catch up. "What is it?" Oh..."

Lilypaw sunk to the ground, trembling. In front of them, the snow-weathered husk of an enormous branch lay on the ground. She remembered that dark afternoon three moons ago, when the pouring rain and whiplike winds had brought the branch crashing down. "No..."

She could sense Sparkpaw next to her; he was watching her with careful eyes, but not interfering. Lilypaw buried her face in her paws. The memories were overwhelming, threatening to swallow her. THat horrible day still haunted her. She _had_ to get away from here. Shuddering, she rose to her paws, turned away and walked in the other direction. _Keep walking, _she reminded herself._ Don't think about it._ She emerged onto the pebbly lakeshore of the beach and collapsed against the stones. "I just... Miss her so much..."

Sparkpaw came over and lay down beside her, licking her ear. "I know," he murmured. "I do, too."

"Sometimes, I don't think about it. I try to ignore it. But how _can _I? She was my best friend..." Lilypaw buried her face in Sparkpaw's thick fur, shivering.

"Shh, it's all right," he murmured. "She's in StarClan now, remember? Probably watching over us right now."

Lilypaw stared up at the sky, blinking in the bright sunlight. _Are you there?_

They lay on the beach together until sunset started to turn the water into liquid amber and cast a golden light onto the beach. They heard a rustle in the bushes, and Sparkpaw leaped up. "Who's there?"

No one replied. Lilypaw stood up, stretching, and mewed "we should go back now."

As they passed through the bushes, Lilypaw caught the heavy scent of wild garlic, which strongly masked the scent of... Nightpaw. Lilypaw's ears flattened as she wondered how long he'd watched them, but she shook it off. _Not my fault he's jealous._ The two apprentices collected the prey they'd caught earlier and returned to camp. When Stormstrike praised her on the amount of prey they had and told her she could turn in early, she didn't resist and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Wake up, little one."

Groggily, Lilypaw opened ehr eyes to see a vaguely familiar she-cat standing over her. Lilypaw searched her mind frantically, then recognized the starry pelt and scrambled to her feet. "Bluestar!" She hastily dipped her head. "Not to be rude, but, er... Why are you in my dream?"

The blue-gray she-cat chuckled. "You have matured in many ways since we last spoke, but I see your clumsiness is still there."

Lilypaw blushed. "Thanks?"

"We have something to show you. Follow me."

Lilypaw trotted after the StarClan cat, who vanished into the undergrowth. They took a seemingly long and pointless route through the ferns until they emerged in a clearing. Lilypaw recognized it from her dream at the Moonpool.

"Dip your nose into the water," Bluestar instructed.

Cautiously, Lilypaw obliged. Immediately, she had the sensation of being sucked in and spit out. She found herself in the ThunderClan nursery. Her father, Sunheart, was there along with Silversong and Mintwing. Her mother was passed out in the moss. At her belly were two tiny kits- With a shock, she realized it was herself and Moonkit right after they were born. The newly born Lilykit was suckling like her life depended on it, but Moonkit lay motionless in the moss.

Sunheart shook his head. "No, no, no..." He leaned forward to touch his daughter's forehead but jerked back, eyes wide and crazy. They cleared after one moment and he stared at Silversong in awe. "What... What was that?" He asked.

Silversong shook her head sadly. "This was not supposed to happen."

Lilypaw listened in amazement as Silversong told Sunheart about Moonkit's destiny and the great war that would happen and destroy the Clans because she died. Lilypaw stared in surprise as teh shimmering lily grew above her tiny sleeping form and as Silversong said that StarClan had chosen the sister of the Leader to take her place. Lilypaw's vision went black and she found herself back in the clearing with Bluestar.

"So I'm just a replacement for Moonkit?" Lilypaw asked bitterly.

Bluestar sighed. "It was not your destiny to lead ThunderClan. It was never supposed to be."

"But it is now?"

Bluestar nodded. "You have to learn to lead your Clan. That is why Stormstrike is so harsh on you."

"Oh." Lilypaw felt conflicted. "But I don't _want _to be a leader! I want a normal life... Is that too much to ask?"

Bluestar shook her head. "We do not choose our own destiny," she told Lilypaw. Bluestar gave her a strange look. "We can, however, choose our own path. Now, your dream is nearly over, but first, I believe that someone has been dying to see-"

"LILYPAW!" A blur of white shot from the bushes an tackled her.

"Icepaw!" Lilypaw threw her off and jumped up. The she-cat looked much the same as she did in life- Her white pelt was sleek and her dark blue eyes sparkled and were full of happiness. SHe touched noses with LIlypaw. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too." LIlypaw replied.

Bluestar chuckled and stood up to leave. "You have until sunrise," she mewed as she pushed through the ferns and was gone.

"So, how is everyone?" Icepaw asked. "Sparkpaw and Nightpaw and all of them?"

"They're all fine," Lilypaw replied.

Icepaw leaned in closer. "So, tell me something: How much are you in loooove with Sparkpaw?"

Lilypaw jolted back, ears on fire. Icepaw fell over laughing. "I knew it!" she crowed. "But seriously. He likes you. Oh, look, it's sunrise. See you soon!" And Lilypaw woke up wishing she'd been able to stay longer.

A/n: Sooooo? What do you guys think? c: I think it turned out all right! Please review if you liked it! Also, I want to hear warrior name suggestions for Lilypaw and Nightpaw. Sparkpaw's is already decided :P So? Warrior names please c:


	13. Chapter 12

A/n: Hey, guys! I am SO sorry for that mix-up. See, what happened is that I only have Internet on my Dad's laptop, so what I was doing was going and choosing a random document from my Doc Manager and then erasing it and writing the new one. Well, apparently my dad's Mac does not like this, so it didn't save :P It even said it had the new wordcount! I know, I know. Watdafuq. Anyways, here is (I hope) the REAL chapter... 12? Enjoy and sorry about that .-.

"Lilypaw! Get up, your second assessment is today!" Stormstrike's voice called. Lilypaw's mentor, it seemed, was intent on training her harder than ever. Lilypaw had told him about her dream (omitting Icepaw, of course), but now that she knew about her so-called destiny, he was only pushing her more to be the leader she didn't want to be.

Lilypaw groaned as she awoke. Hastily grooming her pelt, she walked out of the den to where Stormstrike was sitting outside. "Morning," she slurred, yawning.

"You need to wake up, Lilypaw. This is an assessment." The well-muscled gray tom glared at her severely.

"Sorry." Lilypaw shrugged, trying to wake up her muddled brain.

"All right, let's go." Stormstrike led the way out of camp.

"Wait, can't I have something to eat first?" Lilypaw asked, staring longingly at a rabbit on the fresh-kill pile. Then she sighed. "Let me guess: I must 'learn to function properly without my breakfast'."

"Correct." Stormstrike pushed out of the thorn tunnel and Lilypaw, considering mutiny, followed.

Stormstrike's first stop was at a tall maple tree near the edge of the stone hollow. "Climb this," he mewed.

Lilypaw gulped and stared at the tree. "ALL the way up?"

"Yes. I've placed a dead mouse at the top. Retrieve it and climb back down. Then you can eat it," Stormstrike told her.

The first few tail-lengths were easy. The pastel calico scrabbled up the trunk and then was able to leap up for most of it. When the branches started to thin out, she got nervous. Lilypaw had never really been a fan of heights- To be frank, they terrified her. When a gust of wind blew through the tree tops, she let out a thin wail and clung to the trunk with all four sets of claws. "Are you almost there?" Stormstrike called impatiently.

"A-almost," Lilypaw yelped back. The topmost branches loomed above her, fickle and awfully small. Lilypaw was definitely not the heaviest of cats, but even she doubted some of those branches' ability to hold her up. So she went for the easier solution, wrapping herself around the trunk and scooting upwards. When there was simply no more tree to climb, she glanced around with a mix of anger and confusion. Where was the mouse? It was supposed to be here! _It doesn't matter,_ Lilypaw thought to herself. _I am not staying in this tree any longer. _With a mixture of leaps, crawls and drops, she made it to the bottom branch and promptly fell off, landing with a thud on the grassy ground.

Stormstrike approached her as she sat up. "Well?" he asked, "did you find it?"

Lilypaw stared at the ground. "No," she muttered quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Did you look for it?" Stormstrike asked.

"Yes," Lilypaw said.

"Good. You've passed the first part of your assessment."

"What was it? Not screaming at you because you didn't put a mouse up there like you said you would?"

He smiled. "No, being honest. When you didn't find the mouse, you didn't try to make excuses or cover up."

"Uh... Okay?"

"Next test: Catch a thrush. I promise that you will be able to eat it if you catch it. Now, go!"

*LINEBREAK*

When Lilypaw entered camp at the end of her assessment, it was nearly sunset. Stormstrike had left nothing untouched; he'd even quizzed her on deputy- and leader-related stuff like how to organize a patrol or assign a mentor an apprentice (Lilypaw was pretty sure she'd failed that entire part). After all of it, she was just glad to be back in camp. After she set some fresh-kill (from a solo hunting part of the assessment) on the pile, she noticed all of the other apprentices gathered together near their den. She trotted over. "Hi, guys! What's up?" She asked.

"Hey, Lilypaw." Sparkpaw purred. He was interrupted by Eggpaw.

"Nightpaw's gonna be a warrior today!"

"Really? Congrats!" Lilypaw dipped her head to Nightpaw, who gave her a cold glare in return and then looked away. _Who put fish bile in his dinner?_ she wondered with a snort.

"I'd better go sit down. Talonstar's about to call the Clan together." Nightpaw dipped his head and left, followed by Eggpaw, Palepaw and Ravenpaw.

"So, how was your assessment?" Sparkpaw asked.

Lilypaw sighed and leaned against him. "Ridiculous," she replied. "He even quizzed me on leadership stuff. I don't have to know that yet!"

"Why would you have to know it ever?"

Lilypaw's eyes widened. "Oh, gosh. I can't believe I never told you!" She hurriedly explained the whole thing, making sure he knew how absurd she thought it was.

Sparkpaw blinked, staring at her in awe. "Wait, really?"

"Don't give me that look," she scoffed. "I'm not any different."

"But I've been in l- in a friendship with StarClan's chosen and you didn't even TELL me?" He didn't sound mad, just amazed.

"Haha," Lilypaw laughed dryly. "Not StarClan's chosen. StarClan's replacement."

"Wait, so you don't want to be leader some day?"

"Of course not!" Lilypaw stared at him in surprise. "What ever gave you that impression? I'd hate to be leader! All that responsibility... And 'Lilystar' sounds a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

"Well, some lilies are shaped like stars, aren't they?" Sparkpaw pointed out.

"You are NOT helping."

"Sorry," Sparkpaw chuckled. "Looks like Talonstar called the Clan. Let's go get seats."

Lilypaw led the way to a spot where they would be able to see clearly. Soon after, Talonstar stood up on the Highledge, and the crowd fell silent. "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice," he began. "He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Nightpaw, do you promise to uphold the code and protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Nightpaw bowed his head. "I do," he mewed solemnly.

"Then from this moment on, you will be known as Nightclaw. We honor your bravery, intelligence and kindness and welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan!"

"Nightclaw! Nightclaw!" The cheer rose from the gathered cats. Lilypaw enthusiastically called the new name of her old friend, but he heard her voice and gave her a scathing look. She stopped cheering and shrank back as it hit her- Nightpaw didn't just not 'like' her anymore... He didn't want to be her friend anymore, either. _I just want things to go back to the way they were..._


	14. Chapter 13

A/n: Oh, my god, guys. I am going to shoot Dad's computer ._. So, I swear I wrote Chapter 12 on the document 'Lily Chapter 2' and so I uploaded that as chapter 2, found out it was still ACTUALLY chapter 2, raged, re-wrote the WHOLE DAMN THING, posted it, opened 'Lily Chapter 3' to write Chapter 13, and found Chapter 12. I will KILL something. Or someone... Or some cat... *strokes invisible beard thoughtfully* Ooh! New idea! 8D Anyways, on a much happier note, I have 94 reviews! Aaaaah I'm so close to 100 that I can TASTE it. Sooo... Here's Chapter 13! Finally, we get a look into lil' Sparky's head c:

Lilypaw felt horrible. _I just want to be friends again..._ she stared at Nightclaw, who had taken his silent vigil in the center of camp as the rest of the Clan was preparing to sleep.

"It's not your fault he's a sensitive furball," Sparkpaw told her. "He'll get over it."

"He just wanted to comfort me after Icepaw died... And I pushed him away like he didn't matter." Lilypaw stared at the ground. "It _is _my fault."

"Come off it." Sparkpaw licked her ear. "You don't need to feel bad about this. You aren't in the wrong."

"Yes I am." Lilypaw insisted as she dragged towards the apprentice den. "I'm the most horrible friend ever."

"All right, listen." Sparkpaw came to stand in front of her. "Lilypaw, you are _amazing._ He's just trying to make you feel guilty. Don't let him! It's not your fault and you are not a horrible friend. Okay?"

Lilypaw blushed. "Er..."

Sparkpaw grinned. "I win. Now c'mon, get some sleep. You must be exhausted after your assessment."

"I am," Lilypaw admitted. She let Sparkpaw lead her into the den and she curled up in her nest and fell asleep.

*LINEBREAK*

Sparkpaw's POV

"Help us!" The wail pierced the silence, waking Sparkpaw from a dreamless sleep. He scrambled to his paws. Eggpaw, Ravenpaw and Palepaw were awake too, staring at each other with wide, frightful eyes before bolting from the den together. Sparkpaw glanced hesitantly at Lilypaw, who was still curled up asleep. She looked so peaceful and cute, curled up with her nose tucked under one paw.

He nudged her shoulder with one paw. "Wake up, Lilypaw," he whispered. "Something's happening outside!"

Her eyes blinked open, filmy with sleep. "Sparkpaw... Wha'?"

"I don't know. We need to get up. Come on." He waited until she'd gotten to her paws and they cautiously crept out of the den. A knot of cats were already outside, clustered around something.

"What's going on?" Lilypaw, more awake, bounded forward and Sparkpaw followed. When they reached the group of cats, Lilypaw pushed through with no difficulty and Sparkpaw joined her at the front of the crowd.

A pale gray she-cat lay on her side, panting. Her sides were crisscrossed with clawmarks and one of her ears was shredded. She smelled of fish. "Sh-ShadowClan... Attacked... They had WindClan, too... They're taking our kits... please help us!" and she passed out.

Talonstar, who stood opposite of Sparkpaw and Lilypaw, looked grimly down at the collapsed she-cat. "Silversong, help her, please."

"Will we send help?" Some cat called.

Talonstar nodded. "Of course. The cats going will be Sunheart, Nightclaw, Snowpelt, Stormstrike, Mintwing, Lightfur, Stonefoot, Twigpelt, Sparkpaw, Lilypaw and myself."

Sparkpaw glanced at Lilypaw, who looked nervous and small among all of the grown warriors around her. She gave him a scared look and he nodded. "It'll be okay," he told her.

Talonstar immediately led the way out of camp, followed by the battle patrol. Sparkpaw and Lilypaw were at the back because Lilypaw, still half-asleep, kept tripping over things. Every few heartbeats, Sparkpaw would grab her by the scruff, haul her up from on top of some root or rock, and they'd keep running. Talonstar, ignoring the WindClan boundary, led them straight through the other Clan's territory. The sounds of battle reached Sparkpaw's ears, and Talonstar picked up the pace.

The RiverClan camp was in between two small streams that the cats leaped over easily. The camp was a mass of screaming, writing cats. Sparkpaw immediately lost Lilypaw as he was jumped on by a WindClan she-cat who snarled at him. He pushed her off, gave her a few scratches for good measure, and bit her tail. She didn't run, but she avoided him and engaged in battle with Nightclaw instead. Sparkpaw glanced around, wondering where assistance was needed. There! Two ShadowClan toms were emerging from a tightly woven reed den. Each had a kit in his mouth. Their mother was engaged in combat with a well-muscled tortoiseshell she-cat. Sparkpaw leaped forward and attacked the first tom, who dropped his kit and turned to face Sparkpaw. Good StarClan, the tom was huge! He snarled and leaped at Sparkpaw, who dodged and jumped behind, spinning on his hind legs to attack from the other side. He felt long claws rake his side, but that just made him more angry. Who was ShadowClan to take RiverClan's kits? The kits looked to be about three moons old, so Sparkpaw knocked into the other tom so both kits were on the ground. He crouched down at eye-level with them. "Run!" he told them urgently.

The smaller, a little tortie she-cat, stared up at him with big green eyes. "What about mom?" she asked.

"I'll help her. Now go!"

The two kits scampered off and Sparkpaw reengaged the the two toms in combat. He sent one running but the other got in a few more scratches before a RiverClan cat jumped him and Sparkpaw was open to help the snowy white queen. He hit the tortoiseshell hard and knocked her out. The RiverClan she-cat was bleeding heavily. "My kits... Where are my kits?" She coughed.

"They're fine," Sparkpaw replied. "They're safe."

"Good..." she closed her eyes and lay still.

Sparkpaw felt his heart break for the two little kits who would discover that their mother was dead, but he didn't have time. A terrified scream from the depths of the battle made his blood freeze. _Lilypaw._

Dodging WindClan and ShadowClan cats on both sides, the brown tabby tom wove through the battle, searching frantically for the familiar ginger-and-gray pelt. "Lilypaw? Lilypaw!" His yowl was lost in the sounds of battle, but he kept searching, knocking the enemy aside and watching for her with increasing panic. _Not her. Not after Icepaw. No, no, no, no..._ Finally, he caught sight of her. She was laying, bloody and limp, beneath the claws of a ShadowClan she-cat. "Get off of her!" Sparkpaw hissed, smacking the she-cat so hard that she was flung off. He sent her running with a few deep scratches to remember him by and dashed back to Lilypaw. _She's not moving. She's not moving!_ Her heartbeat was faint but steady in her chest. _She has to live._ He grabbed her scruff and dragged her out of the battleground and into a clump of ferns. He would have to come back for her later.

The battle was ending. ShadowClan and WindClan's cats were dwindling as more and more fled from the scene. Finally, when the retreat had been sounded and RiverClan's camp was empty of of the enemy, Talonstar led his cats home.

Sparkpaw gently dragged Lilypaw back to camp and into the medicine den. Silversong's eyes widened. "Bring her in," she instructed.

With the help of the medicine cat, Sparkpaw cleaned Lilypaw's pelt of the blood and dirt so that Silversong could see where she was hurt. A deep gash ran down one shoulder and snaked under her belly. It was surrounded by smaller scratches. Silversong nodded. "She'll be all right. She just fainted from blood loss. Don't worry about her." More injured cats were entering the den, so Sparkpaw left to be met by a gruesome sight. Mintwing and Lightfur were supporting Stormstrike between them. His head lolled.

Sparkpaw ran over. "Is he...?"

Mingwing nodded as she and Lightfur set him down in the middle of camp. "He died protecting a kit," she replied sadly.

_Poor Lilypaw._ Lilypaw often griped to Sparkpaw about how hard Stormstrike trained her, but he knew she secretly loved having him as a mentor. _She's losing everyone._

The cats started to come over and pay respects to Stormstrike before his burial, and a few settled down for the night beside his body. Sparkpaw dipped his head to Stormstrike before going back to check on Lilypaw.

The small she-cat was awake, struggling to sit up with the thick layer of cobweb binding immobilizing her right shoulder where the cut had been. "Sparkpaw!" She mewed when he came in. "Did we win?"

"We won," he replied grimly. "But... er..."

"What is it?" Lilypaw's eyes were a mix of confusion and fear.

"It's... It's Stormstrike. He's..."

Her eyes widened. "No!" She struggled up and limped outside, despite Silversong's protests. Sparkpaw sighed as she crouched down next to her dead mentor. He knew she needed her space. He spared one last glance at Lilypaw's small form, trembling by yet another dead body, and went into the apprentice den.

A/n: I thought it was necessary to give us a look into Sparkpaw's head. :P Also, sorry for all of you who liked Stormstrike XD He probably won't come back in later *shrug* Oh, well. Review, please! I am curious to hear names for Lilypaw c: I really like Lilyfall, Lilyheart, Lilystep, Lilysong, Lilyfeather and Lilywhisker. If you have others to suggest, don't hesitate to do so, or vote on which of those you like most!


	15. Chapter 14

A/n: YO! So, I am going back to Lilypaw's POV because I love her X3 We start this chapter off with another Gathering. Enjoy! Aaaalso, I HAVE HIT 100 REVIEWS! WOOHOO! :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially Tangleflame, whose appreciation of LilyxSpark has come with me across two accounts(?) and particularly because she gave my 100th review :3

For her second Gathering, Lilypaw didn't make as nearly as big of a fool of herself as she did the first time- When she fell off of the bridge, she managed to flounder to the side and emerge on the island with a little bit of her dignity intact. Sparkpaw jumped down beside her with a mrrow of laughter. "Still clumsy, I see."

"Shut up!" She flicked him with water as they pushed through the bushes into the main clearing. Then, she stopped with surprise. "Well, this is different."

The clearing was even more segregated then it had been at her first Gathering. WindClan and ShadowClan mingled amongst each other like old friends, casting hostile glances at the RiverClan cats, who were on the other side. Lilypaw exchanged a nervous glance with Sparkpaw and both apprentices moved to the RiverClan side. A few apprentices were talking nervously near the edge. When they saw the two ThunderClan apprentices coming towards them, their hackles raised for a moment before they realized they weren't from the enemy and relaxed. "Hey, guys!" It was one of the she-cats who had started the fight at the other Gathering. Next to her sat an unfamiliar ginger she-cat who looked to be a little younger.

"Hi!" Lilypaw dipped her head. Sparkpaw did the same. "Minnowpaw, right?"

"Actually, it's Minnowsplash," she purred proudly. "I got my name after the battle because I threw a ShadowClan tom into the creek. He made quite a splash!"

Lilypaw laughed. "Good one. How's your Clan?"

Her face darkened. "We're doing all right. We lost three warriors and one of our kits was taken. It was Fawnpaw's brother." She gestured to the she-cat next to her, who dipped her head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Lilypaw sighed. "Is that what all of this is about?"

Fawnpaw nodded. "When we arrived, they were like that over there. They wouldn't talk to us and they threatened us when we got too close."

"Mangy crow-food eaters," Sparkpaw spat.

Minnowsplash sighed. "There's a war coming. We can't stop it. Even our medicine cats don't talk to each other any more!"

"What is this fight even about?" Lilypaw asked.

"It started when they gave us this piece of territory. Then, after the Greencough outbreak, we discovered catmint on the territory. They found out and wanted it back."

Lilypaw nodded. "I remember."

"But now, there's talk that they even want to drive us away from the lake... Forever."

Lilypaw gaped. "They can't do that!"

Minnowsplash shrugged. "They're going to try."

"We're not going to let them, though!" Fawnpaw piped up.

Minnowsplash looked at the apprentice grimly. "No, we're not. We're going to drive them out first."

"But why?" Lilypaw asked. "Can't you guys split the catmint and be done with it?"

Minnowsplash shook her head. "ShadowClan came in the night and stole it. They just dug it up and whisked it off."

"Oh..."

Their conversation was interrupted by Talonstar as he shouted, "Cats of all Clans, let the Gathering begin!"

The crowds quieted and Talonstar began, "ThunderClan is doing well. We have a new warrior, Nightclaw."

A few cats called his name, but Lilypaw noticed that they were all from ThunderClan and RiverClan.

Next, the RiverClan leader Fernstar stepped forward. "RiverClan is recovered after the recent attack," she called, glaring at the ShadowClan crowd, "and I would like to personally thank the battle patrol that Talonstar led for coming to our aid when it was needed! We lost three warriors: Turtlenose, Troutclaw and Silverstep. Lastly, ShadowClan has stolen from us!"

This caused yowls of outrage from the cats below. Every single ShadowClan cat leaped to their paws, calling in defense. "We ain't stolen nothin'!" An almost toothless elder called.

Fernstar's eyes were filled with green fire. "Yesterday, on our border patrol, we discovered that ShadowClan had come into our territory, raided the patch of land that _they _gave us, and stole our catmint plant!"

The ShadowClan leader, Shadedstar, stood up. He was a ridiculously well-muscled tom with sleek gray fur and glittering amber eyes. "ShadowClan are many things," he retorted calmly, "but they are not thieves. How do you know it was us?"

"We found scent from your Clan all around," Fernstar spat. "Almost if you had stopped to roll in your prize before you carried it off."

"Catmint too strong for you?" One RiverClan cat called; the whole Clan dissolved into laughter.

Shadedstar's eyes crackled with lightning. "We have not stolen from you," he hissed, "but I see that you are too thick-headed to realize that."

The ShadowClan and WindClan cats started clamoring amongst themselves and a few had to be prevented from leaping over to the RiverClan side to attack.

Fernstar glared back. "And I see that _you,_ my friend, cannot even tell the truth on this sacred night." She raised her voice to be easily heard by every cat, and so she called, "until these thieves own up, RiverClan will not attend Gatherings!"

"Nor will ThunderClan!"

Lilypaw leaned over. "What in the name of StarClan is Talonstar doing?"

Sparkpaw tilted his head down. "Making a dangerous move and an ally at the same time."

Lilypaw nodded and returned to watching the scene in the Great Oak. Talonstar and Fernstar were just jumping down. "Let's go, ThunderClan!" he called, leading them away at a full sprint.

Once again, Lilypaw fell off the tree-bridge about halfway across, but she was getting better at swimming from all the forced practice. Still, an unknown RiverClan cat leaped in, pulled her out and kept running with the rest of his Clan. Sparkpaw nudged her to her feet and they ran.

Back in the ThunderClan camp, Talonstar immediately called a Clan meeting and announced his decision. "Are you mad?" Nightclaw called; "We can't just stop attending Gatherings!"

"ThunderClan has always remained loyal to StarClan, even when no one else did!"

Talonstar raised his tail. "Calm down," he called. "There is a war brewing. Can no one see that? We must have allies in this dark time, and RiverClan is our best chance, even though their territory is across the lake from ours. StarClan would understand."

Sunheart rose from his place below Highledge. "All right, back to your dens, everyone!" He called. "Patrols as usual in the morning!"

Lilypaw glanced next to her and realized that Sparkpaw was asleep on his paws, head lolling. He snored a little bit. "Wake up!" she whispered, poking him.

"Who- Wha- Lilypaw, I was having a nice dream about-" he cut himself off. "...Butterflies. You look tired. Let's get some sleep."

She followed him back into the apprentice den. Since Nightclaw's nest was now empty and that side of the den was cold, she had moved into one next to Sparkpaw. Now, she collapsed into that nest, whispered good-night to Sparkpaw, and fell asleep.

A/n: So? I have a really big, epic story planned for this :3 Also, I really, really can't decide on Lilypaw's warrior name! Gaaaahhh.


	16. Chapter 15

A/n: So, I've noticed that my review count per chapter has dropped a little bit. Are some of you guys not bothering to review? I know that sometimes, when a chapter gets misuploaded or something, it makes you not want to bother reading anymore (or at least, that's how it is with me). Yesterday, I got 212 hits. Where are the 212 reviews? I can see the viewer count and I accept anonymous reviews. Reviews keep me writing, and that little review button is getting lonely because all of its friends are disappearing. Even if you don't have an account, I would like a review from you! v_v Here's the next chapter anyways.

The next morning was crisp and bright, with newleaf sunshine filtering into the hollow and casting beautiful dappled light onto the dusty ground. When Lilypaw emerged, she found that the rest of the Clan was already gathered. Talonstar stood proudly on the Highledge. Lilypaw dashed forward, hoping that no one had noticed that she was late.

Talonstar stepped forward, and the crowd fell silent. "This morning, we celebrate much, but there is also mourning to be done. Lilypaw has recently lost her mentor in a battle, and Stormstrike will be dearly missed. But it is time for a new mentor! Lilypaw, please come forward."

Nervous, Lilypaw stepped through the crowd until she stood in the middle of the assembled cats. She wondered who her mentor would be.

"I have thought long and hard about a mentor for this apprentice, and I have decided that it is time for Lightfur to prove himself as a warrior. Lightfur, you are brave and strong, and I hope that you will pass these abilities on to Lilypaw for the rest of her training."

Lightfur, the creamy golden tom, stepped forward and touched noses with Lilypaw. His eyes shone with excitement. They stepped back into the crowd.

Next, Talonstar began, "We also have two kits who have- finally- reached their sixth moon, and it is time for them to be made apprentices! Willowkit and Rainkit, please come forward."

The two pale gray kits nervously stepped out of the crowd. "Willowkit, from this moment until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Willowpaw. Twigpelt, you are a good mentor and proved yourself so with Nightclaw. Pass your skills on to this young apprentice." They touched noses and drew back. "Rainkit, from this dan until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Rainpaw. Nightclaw, you were an excellent apprentice and are a new warrior. Pass on your strength and ability to this apprentice." Nightclaw touched noses with his new apprentice, who looked very excited, and both drew back.

"Willowpaw! Rainpaw! Willowpaw! Rainpaw!"

Talonstar waited for the clamor to die down. "Finally, I have one more ceremony to perform. Sparkpaw, please come forward."

Lilypaw gaped as her friend stepped out of the ranks. _He didn't tell me he was going to become a warrior today!_

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Sparkpaw, do you promise to uphold the code and protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Sparkpaw nodded. "I do," he replied solemnly, but Lilypaw could see excitement in his eyes.

"Then from this day forward, you will be known as Sparktail. StarClan honors your level-headedness, courage and loyalty to your friends, and we welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan."

"Sparktail! Sparktail! Sparktail" Lilypaw cheered, making sure her voice was heard above the others. The moment the Clan broke up, she jumped forward and tackled him. "You didn't tell me you were becoming a warrior!" She squealed.

"I wanted to surprise you," he grinned, pushing her off.

"Well, I am surprised!" She licked his cheek. "Congratulations!"

He purred. "It's only a matter of time for you."

"Yeah, like two moons." She made a face. "Oh, well."

"A moon and a half. Don't forget your early apprenticeship!"

"Lilypaw!" Lightfur's call came from behind them.

Lilypaw turned back to Sparktail. "Okay, I have to go. Talk to you later!" She trotted over to where her new mentor waited by the thorn tunnel.

"Ready? We're going to jump right in right away," he mewed. "Thanks to Talonstar, I've already found out about your, erm… Condition."

"Well, I-" Lilypaw began to protest, but Lightfur held up his tail.

"Don't waste your breath." He leaned down to look at her. "You don't want to be that cat?"

She shook her head vigorously. "No!"

His eyes gleamed. "Then you won't be."

Lilypaw's ears pricked up. She had a feeling she was going to like Lightfur as her mentor. As they trotted out of camp, she asked, "so you really aren't going to do all that ridiculous stuff that relates to the prophecy?"

He laughed. "Of course not. I don't think anyone should ever be forced into something. However, we're going to use this to your… advantage."

"Really? What do you mean?" Lilypaw asked, grinning.

He smiled slyly. "How would you like to be a warrior in a little under one moon from now?"

Her eyes widened. "Yes!"

Lightfur winked. "I've already started on that, but you'd better help, too. Let's train you extra hard. Meanwhile, I can be sure to convince Talonstar that you should be a warrior early for the sake of the Clan."

"Let's do it!"

A/n: Apologies for the very short chapter :P So… Review, please. Still working on Lilypaw's name, but neh. It'll come to me c:


	17. Chapter 16

A/n: That was the filler chapter, so I apologize. :P Anyways, here's a super-seekrit chapter from our old buddy Minnowsplash's point of view o3o Side note: Why aren't you guys reviewing? I mean, I actually have a good amount of reviews on the last chapter, but I have gotten 207 hits today and I didn't even post anything yet! I don't feel very motivated to update, though. So when you read this chapter, please click that review button and tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate it -_-

"Hey, Minnowsplash!"

The gray she-cat turned absentmindedly. "Hey, Fawnpaw," she mewed. "How's Berrykit?"

The pale brown apprentice smiled as she turned to where her brother played in the dirt behind them. "He's fine. A bit antsy, though. I suppose it's hard to be captured."

Berrykit made a face. "It's boring."

Minnowsplash sighed. "I still hate the idea of this whole thing," she told her friend. "I mean, telling ThunderClan they abducted a kit so that we get them on our side is just too low down for my liking."

"Cheer up!" Fawnpaw mewed. "We get ThunderClan as an ally and ShadowClan gets driven from the forest. It's a win-win here."

"How does ShadowClan win if they're driven out of the forest?"

Fawnpaw shrugged. "It doesn't matter. They won't be around to care!"

Minnowsplash shook her head. "I can't get past the idea that this is wrong," she mewed hesitantly. "Lying about abducted kits, wanting to drive an entire Clan out… Why did we get into such a fight over a piece of territory?"

"They wanted to drive us out first," Fawnpaw pointed out. "This is self-defense."

With a sigh, the pale gray warrior stood up. "I'm going to go hunting," she mewed. "Maybe my head will clear up by then."

"It's probably the hormones," Fawnpaw mewed with a wink.

Minnowsplash felt her fur grow hot and curled her tail protectively around her belly. "How- how did you know?" she stuttered.

"You're getting pretty big. Everyone will start to notice soon."

Minnowsplash sighed. "I'll talk to you later." She turned and pushed out through the reed wall, hopped the creek and headed downstream to her favorite fishing spot, a deep blue pool where the water poured over a miniature waterfall and swirled through the pond with waves of foam. Fish frequented it, great fat things that couldn't be anywhere else because the creek was too small. She settled down on a sun-warmed rock to wait for the fish with one paw poised. A flash of silver caught her eye and her paw flashed in and hooked the fish. She flung it out of the water, causing a spray of glittering drops to ark through the air as she brought her prey down against the rock and killed it. She sniffed it with approval and then repositioned herself to keep hunting.

"Hey, beautiful." A touch on her shoulder startled her into jumping.

She whipped around. "Rainclaw, you scared me!" She protested, flicking the dark gray tom with water.

He chuckled and licked her cheek. "How's the prey swimming today?" He asked.  
"Pretty well. Caught that one with ease." She gestured to the silver fish beside her.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, fish-brain," she purred.

Rainclaw sat down beside her, staring down into the water. Minnowsplash saw the fish at the same time as he did; both their paws went into the water and when Minnowsplash successfully hooked it out, Rainclaw's paw dipped in too far and he fell in with a splash.

Minnowsplash nearly fell over laughing as her mate's disgruntled face appeared in the water. "Well," he mewed, spitting water out, "I guess this is one way to fish." He dove down and resurfaced a moment later with a wriggling silver trout. Minnowsplash helped Rainclaw out and then they picked up their catch and walked back towards camp. After a few moments of silence, Minnowsplash hesitantly mewed, "What do you think about Fernstar's plan?"

Rainclaw was silent for another few heartbeats. "Well, I don't know," he replied. "I don't think that they need to be driven out. Truthfully, I think Fernstar needs to retire. She's on her last life."

"And losing a bit of her sharpness," Minnowsplash agreed. "But it's not like Dewpelt is any better."

"She's been ready to retire for moons, but Fernstar won't let her. I think that Fernstar needs to let Dewpelt retire, appoint a new deputy and then retire herself so that a new cat can take over." Rainclaw meowed thoughtfully.

"You should talk to her about that. She's your mother, after all."

Rainclaw shot her a side glance. "That's not going to be of much help here," he pointed out. "She doesn't listen to me any more than she listens to anyone else."

"Try it," Minnowsplash pleaded. "It's worth a shot, right?"

Rainclaw sighed. "All right." The dark gray tom led the way back into camp and they set their fish on the fresh-kill pile before Minnowsplash went to talk to her apprentice and Rainclaw went to talk to Fernstar.

*LINEBREAK*

"RiverClan, gather now for a meeting!" Fernstar called.

Minnowsplash gave Rainclaw an 'I-told-you-so' look as they sat down together where the Clan always gathered. "It worked, then?"

"She was more open to the idea than I expected," he replied. "I just hope she doesn't choose someone who wants to do the same thing that she does."

The rest of the Clan had sat down below the Fernstar's log before the silver she-cat emerged out of her den and jumped up onto the old, dead tree. "Cats of RiverClan," she began, "this is not a peaceful time for us. This is not the time for… two old cats to be leading us."

There were murmurs of surprise among the cats as Fernstar continued, "Today… Dewpelt and I are retiring. I will appoint a new deputy who will go to the Moonpool and receive their nine lives to lead the Clan in my place. I can only… Only hope that the cat I have chosen will be up for the job. But first, Dewpelt, please step forward."

The shaky, old brown she-cat walked out of the crowd to stand below Fernstar. She dipped her head. "Dewpelt," Fernstar began, "you have been a wonderful deputy. It has been… my honor to look to you in times of distress. Is it really your wish to renounce the titles of senior warrior and deputy to join the elders?"

Dewpelt dipped her head. "It is," she whispered.

"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you the title of elder. Thank you for serving our Clan for as long as you did, and for being my friend."

"Dewpelt! Dewpelt!" The Clan called her name as she stepped back into the crowd to stand beside Thornfang and Willowleaf, the other two elders.

Fernstar raised her tail for silence. "And now, allow me to appoint the new deputy. This is my last act as leader. I am on my last life and I know that I will leave my cats in safe paws when I retire. Ravenbreeze, I appoint you RiverClan's deputy. Lead these cats well with your experience and knowledge."

The black tom dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Now," Fernstar continued, "I stand before you all not as leader, but as an elder. Do not call me Fernstar- I am Fernpelt." She nodded to the cats and stepped down from the log.

"Ravenbreeze! Fernpelt! Ravenbreeze! Fernpelt!" The RiverClan cats cheered, but Minnowsplash felt a creeping feeling of dread. Ravenbreeze was the most outspoken supporter of Fernpelt's crazy plan to drive ShadowClan out.

_This is not good._

A/n: Don't you guys love Minnowsplash? Truthfully, I never actually planned to come back to her ever again, but I think she's pretty epic and I intend to use her more in the future ;w; Also, for all you people going 'She's preggy? Dafuq, didn't she just become a warrior?', she has been a warrior since shortly after that first Gathering that Lilypaw saw her in. So, she's not that young. So, please review!


	18. Chapter 17

A/n: I think we're finally starting to get to the real plot here! It's kind of exciting, don't you think? Yaaaay! And, I continue to put off Lilypaw's warrior ceremony because—Embarrassingly enough—I still don't have her name! I think that it'll either be Lilyheart, Lilystep, Lilysong or Lilyfeather. Though I admit, Lilysplash and Lilyfern are pretty ;w; Hrmhrmhrm. Yeah, phooey :P Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

It was nearly sunhigh when Willowpaw came skidding into camp.

Lilypaw and Sparktail were having a quiet meal together, sharing tongues and talking about no particular subject. When the petite gray apprentice flew head-over-tail in through the thorn tunnel, they were two of many cats that looked up in surprise. Poor Willowpaw was shaking like a leaf. "WindClan," she gasped, "they're coming. I saw them… I raced back here… There are so many of them…"

Talonstar rose from where he had been sunbathing on the Highledge. "Really, Willowpaw?"

She nodded. "Yes…"

"All right, pregnant queens, elders and kits, get in the nursery _now_! All battle-ready warriors and apprentices, I want you prepared to fight. Conceal yourselves and launch a surprise attack. I want this camp looking completely empty when those WindClan warriors come in." As a tired Willowpaw moved to crouch in the shadow of Highledge, he mewed, "not you, Willowpaw. I want you helping Silversong."

The she-cat's ears perked up and she bounded over to where the medicine cat was disappearing into the den. Sparktail jumped to his paws, and Lilypaw followed. "Let's hide over there," he mewed, pointing to a bush concealing a ledge in the stone hollow's walls. Lilypaw nodded and ran over, clawing up the few tail-lengths and settling in a crouch on the ledge, fully concealed from sight. Sparktail joined her. Around the camp, warriors were vanishing into the shadows, hiding in the dens and a few even ventured to duck down on the Highledge and launch an air assault.

Everything was silent for the passing of a few heartbeats. Then, a battle yowl split the air and an enormous WindClan cat charged in, followed by at least a dozen others. There was a moment of confusion, and then they all stopped and stared around. "Where are they?" The large tom growled.

A small she-cat next to him spat in the dirt. "I dunno," she hissed, "but let's just-"

"ATTACK!" Talonstar's yowl split the air and Lilypaw took a deep breath before launching herself. She snuck a peek at what was going on around her—Surprised WindClan cats were being ambushed from all sides as ThunderClan cats practically fell from the sky around them.

Immediately, Lilypaw tackled an apprentice who looked to be about her age. The WindClan tom turned and snarled at her, but she kicked him in the face and scratched his shoulder. That sent him running.

Suddenly, a wail rose up from somewhere near the back of camp. Lilypaw recognized it as Willowpaw's. _Oh, god, they're attacking the medicine den._ She bolted through the mass of fighting cats, kicking a she-cat who tried to engage in battle with her and finally reaching the back of camp. Willowpaw lay unconscious next to Silversong, who was weakly trying to fight off two tawny-colored toms that attacked like one mind controlled them. Two more cats—a tom and a she-cat—were just emerging from the den. Herbs flecked their paws as they ran from camp. A moment later, the two toms lashed out at Silversong one more time before fleeing as well. Silversong slumped to the ground, umoving. One by one, the WindClan cats were retreating. Some left their fights and simply slipped out of the camp. Finally, one last cat stood in the center of camp. Lilypaw recognized her as Russetstar, the WindClan leader.

She raised her eyes to meet those of Talonstar, who stood on Highledge. "This has been your warning," she hissed. "Your herbs have been destroyed and your medicine cat killed. Do not aid RiverClan. This is not your fight." She turned and vanished through the thorn tunnel, leaving silence behind.

Finally, someone dared to ask, "Is Silversong really…?"

Lilypaw wasn't sure she wanted to look. But still, she forced herself to sneak a glance and saw Silversong's broken body laying in the dust. She was dead.

Willowpaw lay next to her. The tiny apprentice had always secretly wanted to be a medicine cat, Lilypaw knew—Now, she might be the only hope for the Clan. But with a chill, Lilypaw noticed the stillness in her friend's pelt, the glassy, open eyes.

"Great StarClan…" Lilypaw whispered, running forward and nudging her friend. _No. No. This can't be happening. Not another friend. No, no, no. _

"No!" The panicked wail ripped through the silence and Rainpaw, Willowpaw's sister, ran forward and buried her nose in her sister's cold fur, shaking. Lilypaw crouched down next to her, pressing her pelt against the small apprentice's and mourning the loss of another friend.

*LINEBREAK*

Shortly before sunset the next day, Talonstar called a Clan meeting. Lilypaw, having spent the night with Willowpaw, felt all right. She was, at least, ready to let Willowpaw go. _If I died, I wouldn't want everyone constantly thinking about me and letting it stop them from being happy. That's the last thing I'd want._ She would miss Willowpaw and Silversong both, but she knew that Talonstar had called the meeting to address that problem along with the others.

"Cats of ThunderClan," he called. "I know that many of you are shaken from the brutality of Russetstar and her cats. We have lost our medicine cat, our herb supply and a potential medicine cat apprentice. Therefore, I will be visiting the Moonpool tonight to discuss a new medicine cat with our warrior ancestors.

"ThunderClan is strong. But we must prove that to our enemies. From now on, every mentor needs to train their apprentice twice as hard. The apprentices will be patrolling, training and doing their chores all of the time. The nursery will be expanded and fortified to act as a safehouse if needed. There will be two warriors on guard in the camp every night, plus an apprentice in case someone falls asleep. Patrols will be doubled on all of the borders, and extra hunting patrols will be sent out. We will need all of our strength for this."

"But Talonstar, do we have enough cats for all of this?" Sunheart spoke up, and there were murmurs of agreement from everywhere.

Talonstar sighed. "We will need as many warriors as possible for this. It will not be easy, but I think we will manage. We'll have to speed some things along in order to make sure that we stay strong."

"What do you mean?" Some cat called out.

Talonstar continued, "we will show them that we are strong. One way to do that is by appointing new warriors, sometimes ahead of their time. Lilypaw, please come forward."

Lilypaw's heart did a little dance in her chest as she nervously stepped forward. _What if he gives me a bad name? What if I make a fool of myself or what if everyone thinks I shouldn't be a warrior yet? _

She knew Talonstar could see the doubts in her eyes, because he mewed, "yes, I know that you all think Lilypaw is too young for this. But let me assure you that she has trained hard and earned this name. I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this young apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Lilypaw, do you promise to uphold the code and protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Especially now, during this time, Lilypaw knew that she would be held to that promise. Hesitantly, she mewed, "I do." Her heart rate quickened as the ceremony continued.

Talonstar leaped down from Highledge to stand before Lilypaw. "Then, by the power of StarClan, I grant you your warrior name. Lilypaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Lilyheart. ThunderClan honors your compassion, loyalty and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

"Lilyheart! Lilyheart! Lilyheart!" The cheer rose up from all around her; Lilyheart caught sight of Sparktail, calling louder than anyone else, and Nightclaw, who sulked at the back without a sound.

_I don't care anymore._ Lilyheart shot him her best bug-off-I-don't-like-you glare and danced over to Sparktail as the crowd broke up.

"Congratulations!" He purred, licking her ear.

"Do you like my name?" Lilyheart purred, blinking up at him.

"It's perfect for you." He gently touched his nose to hers, and she felt happiness and warmth flow through her as she nuzzled him back.

"Now what?" Lilyheart asked.

Sparktail shrugged. "I don't know. Want to go for a walk, like we used to when we were apprentices?"

"Sure," Lilyheart replied with a smile.

The hustle and bustle of the camp gradually faded away as the two warriors wandered through the woods. Neither of them really said anything but it was nice to walk aimlessly, side by side, tails entwined. When they emerged onto the lakeshore, sunset was coloring the treetops amber and washing the world with beautiful light. Sparktail sat down on the shore, and Lilyheart sat next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"This sunset is so amazing," she mewed quietly.

Sparktail turned to look at her. "It seems fitting, doesn't it?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The most amazing sunset while I'm with the most amazing she-cat." He purred, blinking softly.

Lilyheart smiled up at him and then gazed out over the flaming surface of the lake. There was silence for a little while—Maybe it was a heartbeat, maybe it was a thousand lifetimes, but the sunset was the same the whole time.

Sparktail broke the silence when he quietly said, "Lilyheart?"

"Hmm?" she responded.

"I love you."

The words sent a little tingle up through her toes, putting a real name to that feeling she had felt for so long. Lilyheart glanced up at him and whispered, "I love you, too."

A/n: Excuse me while I fangirl over my own pairing. /hides in a corner. Anyways, I would like some reviews please, people! I mean, I have posted exactly 1 chapter today and I have 350 hits from today on this story. Lolwat. Anyways, if you read, please review! Especially this chapter. She has her name and she has her Sparky ;w; What more could she need?


	19. Chapter 18

A/n: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I was out of town from Thursday to Monday, and this morning (Tuesday), our baby chicks came in the mail! We got five and they're really cute. Mine is named Rue ;w; Anyways, almost 150 reviews! Thank you a million, everyone. Enjoy the chapter!

"Let all cats old enough to catch your own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Talonstar's call broke the dawn and shattered Lilyheart's dream. Yawning, she raised her head. Sparktail sat in the nest next to her, grooming his paw.

"Morning, Lilyheart," he purred.

She yawned. "Morning." It was two days after her warrior ceremony. The sun shone bright and full through the treetops, casting a dappled golden light onto the clearing around them. She pushed herself to her paws. "Does Talonstar REALLY have to call a meeting this early?"

Sparktail licked her ear. "It's not that bad. C'mon."

They walked out into the clearing together and sat down near the edge. Since they were the last ones up, Talonstar began as soon as Lilyheart had settled herself down and leaned against Sparktail, still half-asleep. "ThunderClan," Talonstar began, "as you all know, WindClan's attack a few nights ago was devastating and seemingly unprovoked. We have lost our medicine cat, as well as the only one who wanted to fill her pawsteps. They also destroyed our herb supply. This leaves us vulnerable in case of another attack, and Russetstar knows it."

A clamor arose from the crowd as various cats shared their opinions on the topic, but Talonstar raised his paw and they quieted down. "Tonight, I travel to the Moonpool. I wish for Rainpaw to come with me. Sunheart, make a few patrols to gather herbs- The most basic kinds that are easily recognized, so that we will have a chance if they strike again. A few cats will be in charge of salvaging anything from the remains of the herbs we already had. Mentors and apprentices will be training and patrolling. Anyone else, begin gathering brambles for the nursery. It needs to be expanded and fortified. As well as that, I need everyone to—" he was interrupted as a cat came into camp.

Talonstar glanced in surprise at the wounded black RiverClan tom. "Ravenbreeze," he mewed.

"Ravenstar, now," he replied hastily.

Talonstar's eyes surveyed the young tom with a little bit of surprise, and then dipped his head. "Ravenstar," he mewed. "Why have you come?"

The black tom took a deep breath. "We have come… because we need your help."

At that moment, a tiny voice sounded from outside the camp. "Mommy, what if they don't let us in?"

"Great StarClan, do you have kits with you?" The newest queen, Dawnstep, dashed out of the camp, followed by Redfur, who was Rainpaw's mother. A few heartbeats later, both came back in, each holding a tiny kit in their jaws. A calico she-cat followed, looking nervously at her two kits as they were carried forward.

Ravenstar dipped his head. "We need your help. ShadowClan and WindClan have taken our camp and killed three of our warriors and two of our elders."

Murmurs of outrage rippled through the ThunderClan cats. A few she-cats stood up and left camp, returning with kits or helping to support elders. The whole of RiverClan was streaming into the camp. Finally, the last warrior was in ThunderClan's camp. Ravenstar looked up at Talonstar. "Would you deny my cats shelter and safety?"

"I wouldn't dream of it. You and your warriors are welcome here." Talonstar replied. "Is your medicine cat all right?"

A slender blue-gray she-cat stepped out of the assembled cats. "That is I, Talonstar," she replied quietly. "I am Clearpaw. ShadowClan killed my mentor."

"WindClan has killed our medicine cats and destroyed our herbs. If RiverClan stays here, we will accept them as part of our Clan. They will patrol, train, fight and do everything that ThunderClan does. Ravenstar, you will help me to lead them."

Ravenstar nodded. "Let this be the greatest alliance of RiverClan and ThunderClan ever known." He picked his way through the crowd and leaped up the tumble of fallen rocks to join Talonstar on Highledge.

The ginger tom dipped his head. "Welcome to ThunderClan, Ravenstar."

*LINEBREAK*

"Lilyheart, I want you, Bluetail, Cricketpaw and Eggpaw to work on expanding the nursery." Sunheart dipped his head in turn to the four cats. "You'll need to collect brambles for the walls and weave them in. You also need to break the wall on the back and expand it that way, so that there's room for more cats."

Lilyheart nodded, then dipped her head at Bluetail, a relatively small blue-gray she-cat. "You lead the patrol," she mewed.

The RiverClan she-cat smiled. "I think you should. You know your way around the territory better."

"Oh… Okay." Awkwardly, Lilyheart nodded. She turned her head as Eggpaw came up beside her, and mewed, "er… This is Eggpaw."

The tom grinned. "Hi!"

"Hello, Eggpaw," Bluetail purred. "This is my apprentice, Cricketpaw." She turned to a small gray-and-white she-cat next to her.

"Hallo," she mewed quietly.

"Ah… Right. So, I think I know somewhere where we can collect brambles…" Lilyheart led the way from camp, a little nervous. _How am I supposed to lead a patrol? I have no idea what I'm doing!_

Bluetail seemed to sense her emotions. The RiverClan cat took a step ahead of Lilyheart. "I see some brambles over there," she said, pointing with a gesture of her head.

Sighing with relief, Lilyheart nodded. "Okay, let's go." She glanced over at Eggpaw and Cricketpaw. "Be careful, you two. Brambles can prick you really bad if you're not careful."

The ThunderClan apprentice nodded and bounded forward eagerly. Cricketpaw shyly followed him. Lilyheart walked to the edge of the clump and began to work long strands out. She was soon joined by Bluetail. The four cats managed to gather up a large pile of brambles and drag them back to camp just as the sun was setting. Of course, it was getting dark too rapidly for them to work, so they piled up the branches behind the nursery. Lilyheart returned to the warriors den, bone tired and wanting nothing more than to collapse in her warm, comfy nest…

But she had forgotten about RiverClan. The warrior's den was overflowing with twice as many cats as before. From the looks of it, the most inexperienced and young warriors were taking sleeping spots outside, lined up against the cliff. Sunheart must have sent a patrol out for moss, because fresh swaths of it lay on the dusty ground. She found Sparktail near one end and dragged her paws in his direction, yawning. "Hey, Lilyheart," he purred, licking her ear. "You look dead tired. Go to sleep." He gestured to the nest next to him. Gratefully, she collapsed into it, barely registering how soft and warm it was before she fell asleep.

A/n: Sorry this took so long, I'm going through some kind of block v_v Anyways, I have the whole plot laid out in my head and it's going along very well! I think next chapter is going to be from Icepaw's POV. I miss her so much…


	20. Chapter 19

A/n: Hey, guys! Sorry for the slowness with which I am updating here, I've been very busy. Since our chicks (baby chickens, weirdos) came yesterday, I've been socializing with mine a lot. I named her Rue and she's the sweetest, cutest little baby birdie ever. I've also been working a lot—Babysitting and the like. I'm getting over writer's block here, so please forgive me. Lastly, I really want to thank the 4 people that actually bothered to review the last chapter: Tangleflame, chica13 (), Tallstar07 and Poolnight of ThunderClan. I really, really don't want to sound greedy and whiny here, but where are the loyal reviewers I used to have? I miss getting your reviews v_v If there's a reason you're not reviewing anymore, please tell me so that I can get you reviewing again :3

"WindClan is coming!"

"ShadowClan is with them!"

"Get the queens into the nursery!"

Panicked voices sliced through the morning air, quiet yet intense as cats rushed about the camp hiding the herbs and fresh-kill and shepherding kits into the nursery. Lilyheart was struggling with a small RiverClan she-kit by the name of Honeykit ("Put me down! I don't wanna go inside!") when the first wave attacked.

They poured down from all sides into the hollow. Some entered through the thorn tunnel, some ran down the most sloping cliffs, a few even leaped down the most jagged, steep faces of the wall. The mingled stench of ShadowClan and WindClan hit Lilyheart like a wave and she stepped back, choking, before shoving Honeykit inside of the nursery and turning to spring into the fight. She caught a whiff of particularly vile ShadowClan scent, turning to face a lean ginger she-cat who snarled at her. "ThunderClan scum," she spat, lunging at Lilyheart.

The small pastel calico was quick to react. Dodging to one side, she raked her claws across the warrior's flank and then kicked her into a WindClan warrior. Both went sprawling. Lilyheart considered that to be a fight won, so she turned and found herself immediately engaged in combat with a strong brown tom who reeked of ShadowClan. After a few heartbeats of nimbly dodging through the paws of the larger warrior, she realized with a chill that he was aiming to kill—she found herself engaged in a deadly dance with him, always barely evading the claws and teeth directed at her throat or her belly or the back of her head. She managed to kick him in the face once, but that barely deterred him. She saw one paw, aimed at her throat, coming closer and closer…

She leaned back to dodge the blow, only to shriek in terror as she felt his other paw curl around her neck and bring her crashing to the ground. She was flipped onto her back with the tom pinning her down, grinning savagely. "Die, little warrior," he snarled maliciously. He raised a paw and Lilyheart shut her eyes in terror, waiting for it to come. _I'm sorry, Sparktail…_

There was a flash of horrible pain and her vision went black.

*LINEBREAK*

"Lilyheart?" The quiet, gentle voice pulled Lilyheart from a deep sleep. She woke to feel horrible pain still coursing across her throat, as if the tom were striking her again and again, in the same place. She let out a tiny whimper of pain.

"It hurts…" she choked quietly.

"Oh, gosh, I didn't realize it would still be hurting you!" Lilyheart felt a cold nose press against her forehead and looked up to see the face of Icepaw. The pain slowly faded away and the young warrior heaved a sign of relief.

"Thanks, Icepaw."

The white cat's blue eyes sparkled. "Anything for a friend." Lilyheart noticed that she looked… Different. A little older, a little wiser. Starlight left a shimmering trail wherever she walked. Her fur glistened and sparkled like fresh snow, and her eyes were full of bright starlight.

"What's going on?" Lilyheart asked, struggling to her paws. "I… Am I…"

Icepaw looked grim. "It's hard to explain. I'll take you to Bluestar. She can explain." The StarClan cat turned and started to brush through the undergrowth, following a path Lilyheart couldn't see. It was moonhigh in StarClan territory, and the silver light cast by the full moon shone down on everything around them. Even the ground was tinted pale gray. As Icepaw continued on the path, Lilyheart couldn't help but follow a little ways behind to breathe in the fresh, crisp scent of starlight and dew and newleaf ferns.

The two cats emerged out of the underbrush and Icepaw gestured to where Bluestar sat on a flat rock, staring up at the stars. When the rustling of the bushes alerted her to the appearance of Icepaw and Lilyheart, she turned in surprise. "Ah, you're here," she mewed solemnly.

"Yes, I am." Lilyheart felt herself getting mildly angry. "Why am I here? Am I dead? What happened to that 'great destiny' of mine?"

Bluestar's gaze swept over Lilyheart. "It is complicated," she replied with such calmness that Lilyheart wanted to explode.

"Well, could you explain it?" she hissed.

"Peace, little one. I will tell you what is going on."

Lilyheart sighed and sat down on the mossy ground, looking at Bluestar expectantly.

The old she-cat gazed up at the stars. "You have another cat's destiny, Lilyheart."

_I know that, _Lilyheart sighed inwardly, but kept her mouth shut.

"Just because you have a great destiny because your sister died doesn't mean we can just forget your own destiny because it is more humble."

"What does that have to do with it?"

Bluestar broke her gaze away from the velvet sky to stare at Lilyheart with thousand-year-old eyes. "You are one cat carrying two destinies. And those two destinies have collided."

Lilyheart felt a sickening pit growing in her stomach. "You mean… I was supposed to die?"

"You would have died an apprentice, almost a warrior, struck down by that brown tom."

"But what about my… other destiny?" The last words felt awkward and alien on her tongue, but she knew they were the only things to describe it.

Bluestar gave Lilyheart a long, searching look before replying, "well, that is the thing, isn't it? You are dead because it was your destiny. Yet you are not dead because it was not your destiny."

Lilyheart crouched down, head spinning. "All this destiny stuff is giving me a headache," she complained.

Icepaw spoke up for the first time. "So… Does that mean that she's going to be half-alive, half-dead?"

Bluestar purred. "You have much to learn, Icepaw. Such an occurrence with conflicting destinies is very, very rare, but it has happened before." A saddened look entered her eyes, and Lilyheart guessed that she didn't want to talk about the other time.

"So, what does this mean for me?" Lilyheart cautiously asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"It means that you have a choice." Bluestar gazed at Lilyheart through clear blue eyes. "You may live, or you may die." Lilyheart opened her mouth to reply, but Bluestar silenced her. "Careful, Lilyheart," she warned. "If you live, you will not die before Moonkit's time. Yes, that is true. You will be back with those you love and who love you. But if you live, you will be forced back into the world of pain and suffering you will have to endure from that wound. You will be in the medicine den for at least a moon while it heals. And you will not be able to escape your destiny."

"Which one?"

"Your first destiny is gone. This is where you would have died. From now on, it is merely your destiny to become the great leader that Moonkit would have been."

"Oh." Lilyheart sat back up and contemplated her paws. If she stayed here, she would never have to worry about all that destiny stuff. She and Icepaw would be best friends, just like they used to be. And she could finally get to know the sister she hadn't even known of until her apprenticeship. _But what about Sparktail?_ If she went home, she would still be able to feel the thrill of hunting, the exhilaration of battle, and the love for her family and for Sparktail.

Bluestar's eyes shone with sympathy. "I understand your difficulty," she mewed. "Spend the night here in StarClan territory. You may make your decision tomorrow morning."

Lilyheart dipped her head. "Thank you," she replied.

Icepaw nudged Lilyheart's shoulder. "C'mon," she mewed. "I'll show you where I sleep."

Feeling a little unsure about the whole situation, Lilyheart stood up and followed the white she-cat into a much thicker part of the forest. It wasn't dark, though—Starlight still penetrated the canopy and cast faint shadows on the ground. After a little while, Lilyheart began to hear water. Finally, they emerged into a clearing so thickly rimmed with trees and bushes that it would be hard to get in from anywhere other than where they pushed in. A small creek trickled through the grass and crickets chirped in the trees. Icepaw sighed. "Welcome home," she mewed. "Sleep anywhere."

Lilyheart curled up in the grass at the base of a tree, confusion and turmoil in her mind. She slept dreamlessly.

When she woke up, it was barely past dawn. Icepaw had vanished. Lilyheart stood and stretched, feeling better than she had in a long time. Maybe sleeping in StarClan did that to you. She felt light on her paws, full of energy and she was in a good mood. _I've made my decision,_ she realized.

Following her scent from the previous night, she hurried back to the clearing. Sure enough, Icepaw and Bluestar were quietly conversing near the flat rock. Icepaw looked up and ran over when Lilyheart emerged. "Hey!"

Bluestar looked solemnly at Lilyheart. "Have you made your decision?"

Lilyheart took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes," she mewed, "I have."

A/n: Yeah, it's a stupid cliffhanger. Oh, well :P Deeeeall with me and my ridiculousness. Anyways, if you've stopped reviewing for some reason, that's fine. But for those of you who still take time to review my story, please do. I really appreciate it and it's what keeps me going ^^


	21. Chapter 20

A/n: This chapter is the from the POV of Sparktail c: Starting from the battle, right after they chased ShadowClan and WindClan out. Enjoy! Aaaaalso, super ultra mega thanks to ALL of my reviewers for 159 reviews! You guys are epic! Also, can the person who signed their anonymous review with 'Lily' please tell me who you are? Are you someone from dA who has a fanfiction account, or do you know me from fanfiction, or are you a friend of mine in real life? Bleeeeeh please tell me because I don't know you unless I know who you are .-. Durp.

With a sigh, Sparktail picked up Mintwing's limp body and dragged it towards the center of camp. Poor Lilyheart. She'd be devastated. Three bodies lay stretched on the ground: Mintwing, Blackfang and a RiverClan warrior named Hawkcry. Rainpaw, who had arrived back with Talonstar halfway through the battle, was sitting next to Blackfang's head, rubbing lavender and thyme into the pelts of the dead cats with soft, gentle paws. She had decided to become the next medicine cat, as Talonstar had announced after the fight ended. Sparktail nodded to the small, pale gray she-cat before standing up to go find Lilyheart. He'd like to be the one to tell her Mintwing was dead, though he didn't look forward to it. It would be hard for her, losing her mother like that. But as he scanned the crowd for her familiar ginger-and-gray pelt, he realized he couldn't find her. Anywhere. "Lilyheart?" He called, pushing through the crowd. She was nowhere to be found. _Where is she?_ His heart began to pound as he searched every corner of the camp—The wounded sitting in a huddle under the Highledge, or the crowd of mourners gathered by the dead, or the less-wounded warriors heading toward the den to catch some sleep. No sign of her. "Lilyheart?" Finally, he caught sight of her, sleeping in the shade of the cliff. He ran over and nudged her shoulder. "Lilyheart! Thank StarClan, I was so worried about you…" but his purr died in his throat when she didn't move. He licked her ear once, then leaned down to sniff her fur. Breathing, but barely. Cautiously, he rolled her onto her back and found a set of deep clawmarks scoured across her throat. "No…" he choked. "Rainpaw! Clearpaw! Someone get over here now!" His voice sounded unusually high, even to him, but he was too panicked to care. _What if she dies? No, no, no, she can't die! Not now!_

"Sparktail?" With relief, he recognized the now-familiar mew of Clearpaw. The young cat appeared at his side, leaning down to sniff the wound. She glanced up at Sparktail with anxiety in her blue eyes. "I think we can save her," she mewed grimly, "but we'll have to work fast."

Sparktail nodded mutely, feeling like a helpless kit. "What do we have to do?"

"All right. Bring her to the medicine den. Gently, now. I'll go begin preparing something." She raced off.

Carefully, he took her scruff in his teeth and slowly, gently began to move her towards the medicine cat den. Every time her body bumped over something or hit the ground on accident, he winced. _I'm sorry, Lilyheart._ It seemed like a thousand lifetimes before he made it to the medicine den and saw her settled in a nest. Clearpaw was waiting, paws and muzzle speckled with herbs. A pile of shredded herbs lay at her paws.

"Thank you," she mewed. "Now, off with you. I have to work."

"I'm not going anywhere," Sparktail replied stubbornly, sitting down next to Lilyheart's nest.

Clearpaw rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you get in my way, StarClan help me, I will kick you out of this den."

"Deal." Sparktail settled down next to Lilyheart and rested his head next to hers, listening to her faint breathing. Meanwhile, he could hear Clearpaw busily applying herbs to the wound.

He didn't know he dozed off, but he woke up to find that it was dark out and he was in a mossy nest, still next to Lilyheart. Her wound was dressed, but she still lay awkwardly, like she hadn't moved at all. Her breathing was shallow.

Sparktail shuddered at the thought of losing her. _She has to live._ He buried her nose in her soft fur. "Please come back…" he whispered. "I love you." Carefully, he groomed all the blood out of her fur and smoothed it down until her fur shone. She was so beautiful… He licked her ear before curling back up next to her and falling asleep.

*LINEBREAK*

Three days passed, and yet Lilyheart's condition didn't change. Sparktail slept beside her in the medicine den every night, listening to her shallow breathing and hoping, praying that she would be okay. It was like she was trapped in a dream. She never twitched, but her eyes moved under her eyelids and every now and then she'd murmur in her sleep. Sunheart came to visit a few times, but other than that she had no visitors besides him. _Does she really have so few friends?_ Sparktail couldn't understand why someone as sweet, kind and beautiful as her would have no friends. Not even Nightclaw could forsake a little dignity to come see her. That made him mad. What was up with Nightclaw? Lilyheart had wanted to be friends again after pushing him away, and he couldn't even come see her when she was nearly dead! Sparktail snorted as he settled down next to her. _Don't worry, I'll always be here for you…_

Minnowsplash's POV

Rainclaw licked her ear. "Are you sure you'll be all right? You don't know what might be lurking out there."

"I'll be fine," Minnowsplash purred. "Don't worry about us." She brushed her tail over her belly and turned to leave camp.

It was a calm, mild Greenleaf day. The sun shone in a cloudless sky, the trees rustled in a faint breeze, and birds flew overhead. Minnowsplash didn't actually mind the ThunderClan territory, unlike some of her Clanmates. The forest was peaceful and beautiful. She didn't even mind that there was nothing in the way of water but for a few creeks! Without realizing it, she neared the WindClan border. A long time ago, ThunderClan had given WindClan some of the forest territory on the border. Unused to the overpowering smell of foliage in ThunderClan territory, Minnowsplash wandered right over the border.

Only when she heard voices did she realize she'd strayed too far. Directly in front of her, a small group of cats were settled on the ground. One was immediately identified as Russetstar. Minnowsplash knew she couldn't get away without being heard, so she carefully hid behind a tree, hoping and praying that she wouldn't be found.

Meanwhile, a tawny-colored tom sitting next to Russetstar was speaking: "It has been going well. RiverClan has been driven out of their territory—Though not out of the forest. That insufferable Talonstar has taken them in."

"We know all this, Brackenleap. Why are you telling us again?" Russetstar growled.

Brackenleap's eyes gleamed with maliciousness. "Because," he hissed, "why not just kill them off, like we are planning for ThunderClan?"

_They're planning to kill off ThunderClan?_ Minnowsplash's heart was pounding in her chest, but she stayed still as the conversation continued.

Russetstar glanced over at Brackenleap. "I see," she replied. "That is a very good idea, my deputy."

The tom dipped his head.

One of the cats across the circle, a skinny-looking gray tom, cackled with glee. "Then that takes care of two of the Clans!"

"But, my leader, what of ShadowClan?" A small ginger she-cat spoke next.

Russetstar spat. "They are merely pawns in my great scheme. I have their weak leader Shadedstar under my claws. Soon, I will have rid us of all the other Clans and WindClan can grow in glory, expanding to live on every corner of the lake!"

The other cats cheered. Minnowsplash felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. _Oh, no. Oh, no no no. I have to tell the Clans!_

"We're done here," Russetstar growled. "Tell no one of this meeting."

The cats all broke up, walking in different directions. Russetstar walked straight past Minnowsplash's tree. The she-cat sunk down, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. Russetstar passed by without looking her way, and after a few heartbeats Minnowsplash let out a relieved sigh, only to squeal as someone flung her against the ground with both paws at her throat. Russetstar leaned down, snarling. "What's this? A RiverClan she-cat, come to listen in? How much did you hear?"

"I—I didn't hear anything," Minnowsplash choked.

Russetstar hissed and extended her claws so they pricked at the queen's throat. "If you breath a single word of this to anyone," she whispered, leaning down, "I will kill your kits, born or unborn."

"I—I won't say anything," she promised, barely able to breathe.

Russetstar growled and sprung off. Minnowsplash scrambled to her feet and dashed back to camp. She paused right outside the thorn tunnel, feeling conflicted. _My kits or my Clan?_ Telling her leader would be the loyal thing to do, she knew. But if Russetstar found out that ThunderClan and RiverClan knew, she would kill Minnowsplash's kits. With a deep breath, she made a decision: _I have to protect my kits._ Feeling like a traitor, the she-cat slipped into the camp, a fake smile on her face.

A/n: This took waaaaaaay too long to write .-. Hurdurdur. Anyways, THE EBUL PLOT HAS BEEN EXPOSED! Bad Russetstar D: What do you guys think will happen? Merderderder? Also, I have an idea for a possible sequel… Please review if you liked it : And can the person who gave me the review below please tell me who you are in your next review?

(Computer hates me, won't let me log in.)

I just finished reading through all the chapters, and I have to say, you are an amazing writer, your characters are complex and very well-written, and your plot is amazing. I love the way you write, and you are amazing. Please update your story, because it's as amazing as you are.  
Lily

Yeah… Who are yooooou? D: Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!


	22. Chapter 21

A/n: Yes, well, I'm having some computer trouble right now, so apologies if this is the last update for a while (which it may or may not be). Thank you everyone for almost 160 reviews :3

Lilyheart sat across from Bluestar, on the flat-topped rock in the clearing. "Are you ready?" Bluestar asked. "This will hurt a bit."

The young warrior took a deep breath, then nodded. "I'm ready," she replied.

"Good. But first—" Bluestar stopped, looking sad. "First, there is someone who wants to see you."

Lilyheart blinked. Who would want to see her in StarClan? She didn't have any friends or family other than Icepaw who had died. A feeling of dread crept into her heart. "All right," she mewed.

"Lilyheart?" A familiar voice came from behind them, accompanied by a rustle of ferns.

The small she-cat spun around to see a gray she-cat standing in the clearing. Her eyes shone fresh with grief, and though stars shown in her fur, she looked just like she had in life. "M-mother," she choked, running forward and burying her face in Mintwing's shoulder.

"I am sorry, my kit," she whispered, licking Lilyheart's head. "There were too many warriors…"

Lilyheart sobbed into Mintwing's fur. "But… but… it's not fair!" She drew her face away from the comforting gray pelt. "You can't have died! No! You…" she glanced desperately at Bluestar. "Can't she come back with me?"

Bluestar shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lilyheart. It is done."

With a shudder, the she-cat glanced back at Mintwing one last time. "Good-bye, Mom," she whispered.  
The gray StarClan cat gave Lilyheart a pride-filled look. "Good-bye, Lilyheart. I love you so much. You'll make me proud whatever you do."

Lilyheart turned back to Bluestar. "Please, do it quickly," she whispered, shutting her eyes.

Bluestar's front paws came to rest on Lilyheart's, and her nose pressed against her forehead. Suddenly, Lilyheart felt cold. She was falling, falling through a dark, endless fog, her throat burning as invisible claws raked across it over and over again. She tried to scream, to call out, but she was paralyzed, unable to move until there was a sudden hard thump and she came back into consciousness, eyes still closed, laying in a soft, mossy nest. The smell of herbs surrounded her, and she began to hear a cat, mid-mew:

"I think her breathing's gotten steadier!"  
"I think she's all right!"

"Lilyheart?" It came as a whisper; she felt whiskers brush her cheek and recognized Sparktail's familiar mew.

She opened her eyes, blinking in the light. "I…" she coughed a little bit. Her throat felt like it was on fire.

"Shh, don't try to talk," Sparktail meowed. "You'll be all right, don't worry."

Rainpaw's face came into her line of sight. "You took a nasty hit to the throat. It's ripped up pretty bad, but Clearpaw and I have it under control. You'll be up and healed in a little over a moon!"  
"A moon?" Lilyheart choked. "But…"

"Don't talk or I'll give you poppy seeds," Clearpaw threatened. "We can try to speed it up, but it might hurt some."

Mutely, Lilyheart nodded. Her throat hurt horribly, almost too much to breathe.

"Do you want to do that?"

"Mm."

"Okay, well…" Clearpaw and Rainpaw exchanged nervous glances. "We've seen our mentors do this before, but we've never tried it, so… Extra poppy seeds for you!"

Rainpaw picked up a leaf bundle and opened it to reveal five small black seeds. "Here you go, eat them all," she instructed. "It will hurt to swallow, but try your best."

With extreme difficulty, she swallowed. Her eyelids grew heavy and she fell back into the moss as sleep mercilessly dragged her down.

Clearpaw's POV

The RiverClan she-cat watched Lilyheart's head go limp and her eyes close. "All right, let's admit it: We have no idea what we're doing," she sighed. She swapped a glance with Rainpaw. "Do you really think we can manage this?"

The pale gray she-cat nodded. "I think that between what you know and what I know, we'll manage. Plus, it's not that hard."

"I'm just worried about the infections that it could cause." Clearpaw surveyed her small stock of herbs with discontent. "I don't like having such a limited supply."

"Infection?" Sparktail looked up from Lilyheart, protectiveness flashing in his eyes. "I don't want you guys to risk anything stupid that could—"

"Okay, it's time for you to go. This is careful work. She'll be fine." Clearpaw waved one paw at Sparktail.

He opened his mouth in protest. "But—"

"Neh-eh-eh. Shoo!"

He gave her one more glare and then left the den. Clearpaw turned to Rainpaw. "All right. You got the herb salve?"

The ThunderClan she-cat snagged one claw on a dock leaf in the corner and dragged it out. "It's right here," she replied, gesturing to the gooey mess atop the leaf.

"All right. Cobwebs?"

"Beside you."

Clearpaw pulled a few sticky strands away from the pile and carefully wrapped the cobwebs around Lilyheart's neck, thicker and thicker until it resembled extra fur. "Think that's enough?" She asked.

Rainpaw nodded. "I think it'll work. I have a special mixture here that will make the cobwebs harden so that she won't be able to move her neck and reopen the wound."

"Good." Clearpaw helped her friend spread the thick salve over the cobwebs, and then they wrapped it in dock leaves so that it could dry safely.

"I think we're done," Rainpaw mewed, stepping back in satisfaction.

"How will she eat? She can't move her neck," Clearpaw pointed out.

"I'm sure Sparktail will be willing to help," Rainpaw replied, rolling her eyes. "He's moony for her."

Clearpaw laughed. "Right, then. Our work is done."

"We should just let her sleep for now. She'll wake up in a few days."

A/n: PLEASE READ! Sorry I've been updating so slowly, guys! It's just that I've been having some MEGA computer issues. First, my laptop ran completely out of space so I couldn't write new documents, and then once that got fixed, my dad wanted to fix my computer up even more, so I gave it to him and then he gave me a new one with all my old stuff on it, but this new one was doing a crapload of updates so it was very, very slow. All that finished and I'm back on Microsoft Word! Yay! Anyways, expect more updates, guys. Thank you for the continued support and all the reviews!


	23. Chapter 22

A/n: Chapter 22 time! Wow, I remember the last time I wrote for fanfiction… It was around chapter 22 that I was finally nearing 100 reviews. Look how far I've come now! Many thanks to all the signed-in and anonymous reviewers who have stayed loyal to this story :3 I think this story will have about 30 chapters (maybe more like 25) and as I'm nearing the end, I have come up with the idea for a sequel, as well. All that aside, please go vote on my poll so I can decide what fandom to write for next! Enjoy the chapter, friends. ^^

When Lilyheart first awoke, she felt groggy and disoriented. Her neck was stiff and hot, the fur flattened by something sticky. She was in the medicine den, in a warm nest, while a thunderstorm raged outside. No one else was in the den with her, so Lilyheart cautiously attempted to stand up. Her neck was completely immobilized, leaving her staring at the ceiling when she was standing up. _Well, this is just peachy,_ she growled to herself as she ran into a wall. _I can't see anything and I can barely breathe with this fat thing on! _

"Lilyheart?" Clearpaw's voice came from somewhere nearby.

"Clearpaw? Where are you?" Lilyheart rasped, surprised to find that her mew sounded toneless and weak, even to her.

"It's Clearwater now," the she-cat purred. "I'm right next to you."

"Clearwater? That's great! What about Rainpaw?"

"Rainbreeze," Clearwater corrected. "We got our names from StarClan so that we can take on apprentices."

"Oh, cool." Lilyheart tried again to move her head, only to be met with solid defiance from the stuff around her neck. "What did you do to me? I can't move!" She complained.

"It's cobweb, dock leaves and a salve to harden it," Clearwater replied. "It's uncomfortable, but it will let the gashes on your neck heal twice as fast. You'll be out of it in half a moon."

"Well, that's a relief," Lilyheart mewed sarcastically. "And what do I do in the meantime? Sit around and stare at the ceiling?"

"There's nothing we can do about that," Clearwater told her. "You'll just have to deal with it." She lowered her voice. "Talonstar's been talking to us. Is that whole prophecy thing true?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Lilyheart sighed. "I've been doing my best to escape it ."

"Well, he told us he wanted to give you an apprentice as soon as possible so he could make you deputy!"

"What about my father?" The young warrior asked. "He's deputy!"

"Not for long. He's talking of retiring!"

"But… He's not that old!"

"Mintwing's death has aged him," Clearwater sighed. Then there was a slight gasp. "Oh, gosh, I forgot to tell you…"

"It's okay," Lilyheart replied with a flick of her tail. "I knew."

"You… You did?"

"I met her in my dreams."

"…Ah." Clearly not wanting to push it, Clearwater changed the subject. "Minnowsplash had her kits last night!"

"Really?" Lilyheart's ears pricked up. "I wish I could see them."

"You'll be able to in half a moon."

"What do they look like?"

There was a pause as Clearwater tried to remember. "Ah, let's see. There was a black-and-white she-cat named Splashkit, a gray tabby tom named Ripplekit, a gray-and-white she-cat named Dawnkit and a gray tabby she-cat named Sagekit."

"I can't wait to see them," Lilyheart purred. "But quite honestly, I can't wait to see something besides ceiling. How long has it been since you gave me those poppy seeds?"

"Three days," Clearwater replied.

"Three days?"

"You'll be up and running in less than half a moon. It was worth it." Clearwater .replied, then fell quiet.

"Fine." Lilyheart somehow made it back to her nest and sat down. "You know, you should decorate your ceiling," she mewed to break the awkward silence. "Not much to look at up here."

Clearwater gave a mrrow of laughter. "I'll look into that some day. Why don't you go outside? It's very nice out."

"I can hear the rain, you idiot." Lilyheart rolled her eyes, though she doubted Clearwater could see her. "Nice try."

"It was worth a shot," Clearwater shrugged it off, purring. "But it would have been funny to see your face when you got a load of water dumped on your head."

"Oh, yes, very funny," Lilyheart sighed.

"Anyways, you should get some rest. We need to make sure you're healed before you can start your warrior duties again!"

"Fine." Lilyheart sighed, settling down into her nest and closing her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

*LINEBREAK*

Russetstar's POV

The ginger she-cat prowled the Tallrock, watching in pleasure as her warriors went about their preparations below. The smell of blood wafted deliciously from the area where the apprentices were training, and the snarls of the practice fights rang through the air. Groups of rogues were starting to appear, brought into the camp by patrols of warriors. Rogues were aggressive and strong, but they were weak-minded, pathetic things. Russetstar knew that they would be bowing before her with only a little persuasion. The WindClan leader slid her claws out, feeling them scrape the bare rock below her and imagining that it was the bone of her enemy. _Soon, the whole forest will be ours._

"Russetstar, I have good news." Brackenleap's mew came from behind her.

"Really?" The ginger she-cat turned with a silky purr. "What news is this?"

"A RiverClan she-cat has just had her kits in ThunderClan. They should make excellent… Barter."

Russetstar bared her teeth in a savage grin. "You have done well, my deputy," she told him. "Assemble a patrol."

"Yes, Russetstar." The tawny tom dipped his head and then leaped off of Tallrock. Russetstar watched him with pleasure. Everything was going according to plan…

A/n: BAD RUSSETSTAR :U I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :3 Omg, less than 30 reviews until 200! Thank you so much, everyone ^^ Don't be afraid to review!


	24. Chapter 23

A/n: Meeep, now we get to see what happens with Brackenleap and his patrol D: How about a little look into Minnowsplash's head? Yesh? Yesh? Okay c: Enjoy!

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Rainclaw asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Minnowsplash purred sleepily. "Don't worry about us."

As her mate left the den with a purr of 'goodnight', she half-wished she had asked him to stay. A tiny doubt nagged in the back of her mind. Russetstar's threat hung above her head like an ominous cloud. If anyone found out about WindClan's plan, that horrible she-cat would take her kits. Minnowsplash's kits would be gone, just like that. "My babies…" she whispered, nudging at them. All of them except for Sagekit were sound asleep. The tiny she-cat had already opened her eyes and was cautiously dragging herself around on tiny paws. "Come back here, Sagekit," Minnowsplash whispered. "It's time for bed." She gently took her she-kit's scruff and pulled her back. The tiny kit made a tiny purring sound in the back of her throat and fell asleep between Splashkit and Ripplekit.

Minnowsplash sighed, fearing for the life of her kits. But she was tired, and sleep took her quickly.

Cold at her side woke her up in the middle of the night. She came to, tired and groggy._ Why did I wake up?_ Automatically, she leaned down to nuzzle her kits, only to meet warm moss with her nose. _They're not there. They're not there!_ The she-cat leaped up, panicked, scrabbling around, frantically scenting the air for her kits. Nowhere. They were gone. Minnowsplash took a whiff of scent and nearly choked as the foul stenches of WindClan and ShadowClan hit her nose, mingled with faint scents of her kits and something else… Blood. It was blood.

"No!" The small, strangled sound escaped her mouth before she could stop it. Another RiverClan queen, Sorrelheart, raised her head, sleep in her eyes.

"Minnowsplash?" She asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's… It's nothing," she managed. "Just a nightmare. Go back to sleep." _I can't let anyone know what happened. Then… _She didn't even want to think about it.

But Sorrelheart was not so easily fooled. "Your kits!" She gasped. "Your kits are gone!" The she-cat leaped up and stepped over her own kits, Butterflykit and Honeykit, who were asleep in the moss. "I smell… ShadowClan. And WindClan. And…" the queen gave Minnowsplash a horror-filled look. "Oh, no."

"Listen," Minnowsplash hissed, "you can't let anyone know about this. No one, okay? If anyone finds out, Russetstar will… She'll…"

Sorrelheart's eyes widened. "Minnowsplash, what's going on?"

The gray she-cat took a deep breath and then hurried to explain what had happened. She finished with, "you can't tell anyone. Anyone. If anyone finds out about anything, I might not be able to stop myself from telling… And then… And then what?" She imagined her poor kits, helpless, beneath the claws of a warrior. "I'm going to go rescue them," she told Sorrelheart.

"What? Then I'm coming with you!" The she-cat straightened up.

"No, you can't! What about your kits?"

"They'll be fine." Sorrelheart glanced back. "Let's go find your kits."

The two she-cats left camp, following the unmasked trail of the kitnappers. "They were trying to scare us," Minnowsplash guessed. "Show us how easily they snuck in and took your kits."

"They won't get away," Minnowsplash replied with grim determination.

They followed the scent out of ThunderClan territory and along the border of WindClan territory, all the way into the abandoned RiverClan territory. "What were they doing here?" Sorrelheart muttered under her breath.

The scent led them straight toward the Gathering island, which hadn't been used in a moon. Two dark shapes sat at the base of the tree trunk. The two RiverClan she-cats swapped nervous looks with each other. "Oh, no."

Not wanting to be seen, Minnowsplash hid in a clump of reeds with Sorrelheart. The two watched long enough to figure out that the two dark shapes were ShadowClan warriors, a tom and a she-cat, who were guarding the island from intruders. "Now what?" Sorrelheart whispered.

Minnowsplash narrowed her eyes. "We swim," she decided.

They slipped out and backtracked along their own scent trails until they were far enough away that they couldn't hear the guards anymore. Together, the two she-cats slipped into the water and swam silently towards the middle of the lake. Minnowsplash turned and angled herself at the island, then ducked under the water and swam with swift, strong strokes until she felt pebbles under her paws and emerged onto the shore, taking deep but silent breaths. A moment later, Sorrelheart appeared next to her, amber eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Minnowsplash led the way into the undergrowth. She held out her tail for Sorrelheart as a silent message to stop. They were hidden at the edge of the clearing, and it was sparsely populated with cats and dens. A she-cat lounged in a mossy nest beneath the Great Oak, lazily nibbling on a mouse and looking bored. She was the only awake one, so she was probably on watch. The scent of Minnowsplash's kits was so strong that the queen began to feel reckless, willing to risk everything for the safety of her little ones. "What's the plan?" She whispered.

Sorrelheart shrugged. "I don't know," she murmured. "We could jump the cat and knock her out before she makes any noise, and then go find your kits."

"Good idea. Let's go!" Minnowsplash leaped out of the bushes, landed on top of the she-cat with a thump, and smacked her across the forehead. She went limp, but faint echoes from the commotion still hung in the air. _I hope no one heard that,_ she thought to herself.

The kit-scent was coming from a thickly woven bramble den that looked like some sort of prison. No cats seemed to be on guard, so they slipped in to see the four kits sleeping soundly in a heap. Minnowsplash took Sagekit and Ripplekit, while Sorrelheart picked up Dawnkit and Splashkit. They began to creep out towards the other side of the bushes, when a voice mewed, "stop right there."

Eyes glinted at them from all sides, revealing the shadowy forms of around a dozen cats. _We walked into a trap,_ Minnowsplash realized with terror. _It was a trap._

One stepped forward. It was the tom Brackenleap. "Welcome to our… encampment, Minnowsplash and Sorrelheart. I see you come to rob us."

"We come to take my kits back," Minnowsplash spat. "That is not thievery."

"You and your kits will not leave this island," Brackenleap snarled. "Attack them."

The warriors flew from the shadows like a flock of birds, falling on the two RiverClan queens with claws and teeth bared. Terror filled Minnowsplash's heart- Not for her, but for her kits. "Get them," she hissed to Sorrelheart. "and run!"

She could hear the terrified yelps of the kits as Sorrelheart herded the four kits to the lakeshore. Turning, the pale gray she-cat faced the enemies and slid her claws out. "You will not kill my kits."

She wasn't sure how long she fought, or how many injuries she took. The only thought in Minnowsplash's mind was protecting her kits. When she heard the telltale slosh of water and heard Sorrelheart quietly murmuring to the scared kits, she knew they would be safe. _Time to run,_ she thought._ Have to get out of here._

But they kept pressing forward. She parried each of their strokes with speed and precision, but when Brackenleap dodged around her claws and sunk his jaws into her throat, she fell sideways. He leered down towards her, jaws dripping, and snarled with a malicious smile. "Say hello to StarClan, foolish queen."

His paw came down toward her head and she felt no more.

A/n: BRACKENLEAP. I swear, he's going to get a time-out later :I Anyways, what did you think? Sorry for the slow updates lately… I've been obsessing over some Minecraft mods I just got, as well as going through some writer's block. Ah, well.


	25. Chapter 24

A/n: Hurdurflur only 19 reviews until 200! Thanks a million for all the nice reviews, everyone! I really love getting them from y'all c: Also, we're leaving Minnowsplash for a while, so you won't know if she's alive or dead (muahahaha!) So, enjoy chapter 24 and let's see if we can hit 200 reviews by the end of the story ;3

"Ow! Don't do that, it hurts!" Lilyheart complained.

"Sorry," Clearwater muttered, "but this thing has to come off, and unless you want more poppy seeds, it's going to hurt!" The RiverClan she-cat, along with Rainbreeze, was taking Lilyheart's ridiculous bandage off. Where the stuff had dried to her fur, she was experiencing extreme pain as hundreds of hairs were pulled out of her neck.

"We're almost done," Rainbreeze told her soothingly. "Don't worry."

Lilyheart sighed and tried not to fidget as her scruff began to itch. "Are you almost done?" She asked for the fifth time.

"Almost," Clearwater told her. "Just hang in there. This one's going to hurt." The pale gray she-cat yanked at a chunk of hardened salve, pulling it from Lilyheart's fur with a ripping sound. The young warrior shrieked in pain, digging her claws into the moss of her nest. It was like it had set off some kind of trigger, sending talons of flame screeching down her throat, over the nearly fatal wounds. They felt fresh again, hot and burning with pain. A few heartbeats later, it started to die down, leaving Lilyheart shivering, eyes closed.

"Lilyheart? Are you okay?" Sparktail came skidding into the den and ran over.

"I'm fine," she managed. "It just hurt when Clearwater pulled some stuff out of my fur."

Sparktail gave the pale gray she-cat the stinkeye and then nudged Lilyheart gently. "I'm glad that you've got that thing off," he purred.

"There's still dried stuff stuck in your fur," Rainbreeze mewed, parting what was left of Lilyheart's neck fur with gentle paws. "You'll need to take a swim to dissolve the last of this."

"A swim?" Lilyheart gaped. "I don't know how to swim!"

"Just find a creek and try to sit neck-deep in it until that washes away," the ThunderClan medicine cat instructed. "It won't take long."

"C'mon, I'll take you," Sparktail mewed.

Lilyheart nodded a little shakily and rose to her feet, allowing the brown tabby tom to lead her from the den. Once they had left camp, he turned to look at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah. Why?"

"You're shaking like a leaf." He leaned over and licked her ear. "Tell me what's wrong, Lilyheart."

"I… I don't know. When she pulled it out of my fur, it hurt, but it was like it triggered something and it made my wounds hurt all over again, like they were fresh." Protectively, the young she-cat curled her chin down to cover the marks. "It felt like fire."

Sparktail walked in silence for a few heartbeats, then asked, "could it have something to do with the fact that that wound would have been fatal?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you told me about that dream you had, you said that you were supposed to die from that wound, but you were able to come back because of Moonkit's destiny." Sparktail watched her carefully. "Maybe, since it was supposed to be a killing blow, it won't heal like normal wounds."

Lilyheart shivered at the thought of ever having to endure such pain again, but it made sense. A killing wound wouldn't have healed, would it? For the first time, she was thankful for Moonkit's destiny. _At least I'm still alive._

Sparktail nudged her with his shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Look," he mewed, pointing with a gesture of his head, "there's the stream." They paused on the mossy bank, before Lilyheart cautiously lowered herself into the icy water and settled on the pebbly bottom.

"I hate this," she muttered, shivering. "It's too cold."

"Hopefully, the stuff will wash away soon," Sparktail added. "Oh, Lilyheart, watch out for that—"

A stick came from upstream and hit Lilyheart square in the back of her head. Claws of pain arced down her head and into her throat, causing her to convulse and crumple into the water with a splash. She felt like her whole body was on fire, yet she was in the water. As it started to die down she felt a splash, and then Sparktail was under her, supporting her with his shoulders and pushing her onto the bank. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, trembling. "It happened again," she whispered. "But it was worse."

"We should get you back to camp." Sparktail said worriedly. "Come on."

Back in camp, he led her to one of the makeshift nests outside of the warrior's den and she fell asleep immediately, with no dreams.

*LINEBREAK*

"Whee!" Lilyheart woke up to something sliding down her back.

"What…" She raised her head sleepily and turned her head to find her face-to-face with Splashkit.

"Oops!" The little kit chirped, jumping off and dashing away. She was followed by Sagekit, Ripplekit and Dawnkit, who had evidently been waiting for their turns as well. Since they didn't have a mother to rein them in, the four kits pretty much ran the camp, getting in everyone's way. They were sort of everyone's kits—Everyone helped to take care of them and in return, they got in everyone's way. Watching the kits play made Lilyheart think of Minnowsplash, and she sighed, leaning against the cliff face. Minnowsplash hadn't been seen by anyone since she and Sorrelheart snuck out to rescue the kits. Sorrelheart had told everyone what had happened, but still no one knew what Minnowsplash had overheard before Russetstar threatened her. Now that no one could find Minnowsplash to ask her, they were at a disadvantage. ShadowClan was probably plotting something, with WindClan as their allies.

Attacks were becoming brutal and more frequent. Apprentices were no longer allowed to leave the camp alone, after Eggpaw had been ambushed near the border and nearly died. Kits could only leave the nursery under supervision (though Splashkit and her siblings seemed to enjoy breaking that rule), and warriors were recommended to go in patrols of 5 or more. The situation was becoming dire. In the last attack, WindClan and ShadowClan had brought rogues with them, enough to nearly double the forces. The numbers of RiverClan and ThunderClan were dangerously low, leaving only a few apprentices and a pawful of warriors in each Clan. Ravenstar and Talonstar were trying their best to hold the Clans together, but some cats were even talking about leaving. Truthfully, Lilyheart was half with them. She didn't want to die as young as she was.

Guiltily, Lilyheart crouched back in her nest. _Maybe I should give up the life I want so I can stop this war…_

A/n: You like? Eh? Neh? Please review c:


	26. Chapter 25

A/n: Wow, 10 reviews until 200! Anyways, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had some writer's block and my friend from across the country came to visit c: She's here right now, but I have a chance to write, so I hope you enjoy!

"Lilyheart, Bluetail and Nightclaw, hunting patrol."

Lilyheart grimaced as Nightclaw's name was listed alongside hers. She hadn't spoken to him in moons, and the last thing she wanted to do was start now. _At least Bluetail's with us._ The levelheaded RiverClan she-cat would surely keep the both of them in check, in case things got awkward.

A few heartbeats later, Bluetail padded over, Nightclaw in tow and looking sullen. "Come on, then," she purred cheerfully, "we have a lot of—" she stopped when she realized Lilyheart was glaring at Nightclaw, and he was glaring back. The RiverClan warrior made a small noise in the back of her throat, then chuckled. "Ah, I see what's going on here. All right, then."

Lilyheart silently thanked Bluetail for figuring it out so quickly, then mewed out loud "perhaps we should split up to cover more ground."

Behind Bluetail, Nightclaw rolled his eyes at her, but the RiverClan she-cat nodded. "I think that would be best. We can meet by the lakeshore at sunhigh to decide if we need to stay out hunting longer. All right?"

Lilyheart quickly nodded before leaving camp as quickly as she could and running lightly through the forest to put space between her and the rest of the Clans. She wandered in the opposite direction from the lake until she was sure she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else. Her first catch was a fat squirrel who had been lounging in the branches of a small maple tree. Evidently, he wasn't used to predators in his neck of the woods.

A rustling sound in the bushes caught her attention, so she set the squirrel down and crept towards it, tasting the air for the scent of the prey. When the aroma of mouse hit the roof of her mouth, she dropped into a crouch and crept stealthily forward before dodging in and hooking the mouse out. She killed it with a swift blow and buried it and the squirrel under some leaves. She spent the next little while wandering the unfamiliar woods, looking for something to hunt, but saw nothing. When the sun was creeping towards its peak, she dug up the fresh-kill again and headed back towards the lake. Bluetail and Nightclaw were already waiting. Lilyheart noticed with embarrassment that both had caught more prey than her.

Bluetail dipped her head. "Welcome back, Lilyheart."

"Thank you." She nodded in return, then added her fresh-kill to the pile. "I think there's enough to take back to camp," she remarked.

"Fine with me," Nightclaw muttered grumpily. "I'm tired of hunting, anyways."

"Don't get your whiskers in a knot," Bluetail mewed peaceably. "We're going back no— Wait, everyone be quiet and hide!"

Lilyheart caught it, too- An unfamiliar scent. Rogues. Shoving the fresh-kill under a fern and climbing a tree, the small she-cat settled on a branch to watch carefully. There were rustles in the surrounding oaks as Nightclaw and Bluetail did the same. Silence enveloped the clearing for a heartbeat before there was the sound of pawsteps and a pale gray she-cat emerged into the clearing, followed by several others. She smelled like the other rogues that fought with WindClan and ShadowClan, but didn't have the telltale taint of their scent on her. A few moments later, more cats emerged- three she-cats and two toms, by the looks of it. The leader stood still for a few heartbeats before raising her blue-green eyes to look straight at Lilyheart. "I can tell you're up there," she called. "Please, come down. I need to talk with Talonstar and Ravenstar."

Lilyheart cautiously rose to her feet, balancing on the branch, then jumped down. She turned to face the strange she-cat. "Why would you need to do that?" She asked. Creaking sounds from the neighboring trees indicated the arrival of Nightclaw and Bluetail, who came to stand a little behind her.

The lead she-cat dipped her head politely. "My name is Song," she told Lilyheart. "We used to live with a group of loners and rogues until they joined WindClan and ShadowClan. We know some things that may be helpful."

Lilyheart tipped her head to one side, pondering it. "All right," she mewed finally. We'll bring you and your friends to the camp. Come with me." She waved her tail and started to lead the cats back toward camp. Nightclaw walked to the side and Bluetail stayed near the back, starting a conversation with a pretty gray tabby she-cat who had dark green eyes. When they reached the camp, a few cats noticed right away and quieted down, watching the newcomers with wide eyes. A wave of silence swept through camp as everyone gradually noticed the loners. Talonstar and Ravenstar, who were sitting on the Highledge, looked up from their conversation and stood. "Lilyheart, Bluetail and Nightclaw," Ravenstar called, "who are these cats and why have you brought them into camp?"

Song stepped forward. "My name is Song," she told the two leaders. "These are my friends—Emerald, Snowy, Ryn, Skip and Thistle." She pointed in to each in turn. "We come from a group of cats descended from certain others who have had interactions with your Clans in the past."

Talonstar watched the she-cat with bright curiosity in his eyes. "Really?" He asked. "What did these cats call themselves?"

Song took a deep breath, swapped a glance with Skip—who stood beside her—and hesitantly mewed, "please do not judge us on this. Swear you won't judge us on this."

Ravenstar watched the small she-cat. "Very well," he mewed. "We swear we will not judge you or your companions on this. Now, who were these cats?"

Song curled her claws into the dirt, closed her eyes for a few moments and then looked back up at the cats. "They called themselves BloodClan."

A/n: Muahahaha and all that. Please review c:


	27. Chapter 26

A/n: Wowkay, guys. Got 4 reviews almost right away, which really motivated me to write this next chapter c: I'm kind of busy with my friend in town and everything, but I wanted to write this quickly for y'all. Hope you enjoy it!

"BloodClan?"

"They're from BloodClan?"

Talonstar regarded the small group of cats with new eyes. "Please explain, Song," he said calmly.

The gray she-cat dipped her head in relief. "As I'm sure all of you know, BloodClan and their leader, Scourge, tried to take over your Clans many seasons ago. When he was defeated and both he and his second-in-command, Bone, were killed, many thought that they disbanded. But really, the children of the two began an all-out war for power. Sides were taken and there was a giant battle between the two. The son of Bone won."

"Who would that be?" Ravenstar asked politely.

"His name was Smudge, a former kittypet," Song replied. "As I understand, he was the friend of one of your most legendary leaders."

"Firestar," Talonstar murmured, disbelieving.

"Yes. When the Clans left the forest, Smudge led his cats after them, wanting to meet them by the lake and form a Clan of his own. But beneath the outer peacefulness between the cats, the daughter of Scourge's followers were still planning to overthrow him. They lost their chance and Smudge's successor was a young she-cat named Peach. Peach's children and grandchildren led us for moons after that, settling us down in a place outside of the Clan territory as they waited for a good time to reveal themselves."

"Get to the point!" Some cat yowled from the back of the accumulated crowd.

Song blinked calmly in their direction, then finished, "Scourge's descendant, a she-cat named Vixen, took control a few moons before I was born. When this opportunity of war presented itself, Vixen took her cats and joined WindClan, hoping to get a portion of the land when all the other Clans were driven out or killed off."

"What?" Talonstar gaped; He looked truly stunned for a moment. "What did you say?"

Song looked confused. "They're planning to drive you all out, even ShadowClan, and take the territory for themselves. You didn't know that?"

Ravenstar looked surprised. "No, we didn't. Thank you for telling us."

"Why are you all here, then?" Talonstar asked, sounding curious.

The brown tabby she-cat that Song had introduced as Ryn stepped forward. "There was a time before us all when our cats lived in peace and harmony with each other. Vixen has taken that all away from us. We want to integrate ourselves into the Clans and destroy Vixen and those loyal to her forever."

Song nodded to her friend, then turned back to Talonstar. "We have very important information to give all of you. There is an attack planned for tonight, at midnight." She lowered her head. "And they will fight to kill."

Murmurs of fear rose up from everywhere. "What do we do?" Lilyheart called.

Talonstar stood, and the clamor quieted down instantly. "We cannot panic," he told them calmly. "You don't have to worry. We'll be all right."

"But what can we do against ShadowClan, WindClan and BloodClan combined?" Bluetail asked, eyes sad. "There's no hope for us."

"Yes, there is." Talonstar's eyes shone with a fierce determination. "Song, do you know any of the fighting techniques they will be using? Anything at all that could help us?"

Song nodded. "They fight in pairs. Two cats to attack one. They might be attacked by another cat, but one will keep up the initial attack while the other attacks the second. When one is defeated, they return to the fight together."

"We will do the same," Talonstar decided grimly. "Each cat must choose a partner and begin practice and preparation immediately. Hunt to fill your bellies and those of the queens, rest up, and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. A few select cats will be in charge of helping the queens, kits and elders."

"We can fight!" Splashkit yowled, bouncing out of the crowd. "Let us fight!"

Talonstar smiled at the young cat with tenderness in his gaze. "Your time will come, Splashkit. You and your siblings will be very important in protecting the other queens."

Seeming satisfied, the small black-and-white she-cat withdrew. Ravenstar stepped up. "Begin immediately!"

The cats broke up, talking earnestly with each other. Lilyheart felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and turned to see Sparktail. "Partners?"

Lilyheart blinked. "There's no one I'd rather trust with my life," she purred.

"Come on, then. Let's go."

*LINEBREAK*

Silence filled the camp. No one moved or barely even breathed. Pairs of cats waited everywhere- Pretending to sleep in the warrior's den, sitting together near the fresh-kill pile, and hiding in the shadows next to the wall. In the growing darkness, Lilyheart buried herself into Sparktail's side, shivering. "I'm scared," she whispered.

He licked her head comfortingly. "It'll be okay, Lilyheart. Remember that."

Lilyheart took a deep breath, then fell silent The darkness was pressing, harsh. It was like the moonless night had muffled all the sounds of the Clans, pressing them into an uncomfortable quiet. Everyone waited with baited breath for Leafwhisper's signal. She waited in a tree just outside of camp for the appearance of the enemy.

A lone, haunting wail pierced the darkness. _Leafwhisper!_ Lilyheart and Sparktail sprang apart, ducking into ready stance with their pelts barely brushing. All across the clearing, bright eyes flickered into visibility like tiny stars. A moment later, the smell hit them: The heavy, musky aroma of ShadowClan, WindClan's musty scent, and finally the dark, unfamiliar smell of the rogues. The first wave of cats flowed through the tunnel. Like Song said, they split into pairs and attacked single cats across the clearing. They seemed surprised when ThunderClan and RiverClan cats began pairing up and fighting back. The sounds of battling cats rose up in the night, driving away the silence. Lilyheart and Sparktail exchanged a glance. "Ready?" She whispered.

Sparktail nodded. "Go."

The small she-cat leaped forward to tackle a rogue she-cat with patchy black-and-gray fur and malicious yellow eyes. She and her partner leaped onto Lilyheart immediately, burying her in their horrible, stinky scent. She felt claws scraping her ribcage and teeth biting at her ear. Their weight was suffocating and painful, but she forced herself to bring one paw up and slash at the belly above her. There was a loud yowl as Sparktail tackled them from the top. With the two rogues sandwiched between them, Sparktail and Lilyheart managed to wound both cats enough so that when they sprang apart, the rogues fled.

"Good job!" Sparktail panted, raising one paw to wipe blood from a cut off of his face.

"You too," Lilyheart replied, shaking her fur out. They stood in silence for a few heartbeats before a thin wail rose from somewhere in the camp. "Sagekit!" Lilyheart realized.

Sparktail gave her a horrified glance. "They're in the nursery."

"We've got to do something!"

"Come on," Sparktail mewed grimly. "Let's go." He led the way through the crowd with Lilyheart close behind. When they reached the bramble den, they were greeted with a terrifying sight. Two ShadowClan warriors were emerging from the den, each with three kits hastily grasped in their jaws. With a sickening jolt, Lilyheart recognized the bloodied, limp form of Splashkit, hanging unconscious next to Sagekit and the RiverClan kit Butterflykit. A third rogue crouched outside over a dark, motionless lump. When Lilyheart jumped forward to intercept the kitnappers, he jumped forward and thrust his bundle in Lilyheart's face, claws stretched over it.

"Be careful, little shrimp," he cackled maliciously. "You don't want to hurt her."

The lump shifted slightly, opening dull amber eyes, and whispered, "Lilyheart?"

"Minnowsplash? You're alive!"

"Don't… It'll be okay… Just…" Minnowsplash coughed, then her eyes closed.

The rogue chuckled evilly, then stopped with a cough and slumped forward. Sparktail's fangs were buried in his neck. When the rogue remained motionless, Sparktail sprang off, stumbling slightly and looking at Lilyheart with wide, terrified eyes. "I killed him…" he whispered. "I…"

"Sparktail, it's okay. We have to help these kits. It'll be okay."

The brown tom was in shock. He shook his head, backing away slowly. "It's not okay. I killed him." His eyes were filled with tears. "I can't… No." He turned and ran into the crowd.

All alone, Lilyheart tackled the first tom, knocking him out and springing off and onto the next one. She knew she had to keep the kits safe, no matter what. Minnowsplash was stirring, trying to stumble to her feet. When her eyes focused and she saw Splashkit hanging limply from the second tom's jaws, she stood a little straighter, just for a second, and barreled into him. Lilyheart delivered the final blow and knocked him out, too.

Minnowsplash stared at Lilyheart. "What… What's going on…"

"Not now, Minnowsplash. Take your kits. Get inside. Now!" Lilyheart picked up Splashkit and then nudged Sagekit inside. Minnowsplash did the same, herding Dawnkit and Ripplekit in front of her. When they squeezed through the entrance, Sorrelheart was curled protectively around Honeykit, hissing. A shocked expression flickered across her face when she saw Minnowsplash.

"You're okay! Your kits are all okay. And Butterflykit…!" The tortoiseshell queen ran forward and nuzzled her kit, who squeaked happily and ran through her mother's legs to tackle Honeykit.

As soon as all her kits were safely inside, Minnowsplash's eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed. Sorrelheart nudged her, then looked up. "I've had some medicine cat training," she assured Lilyheart. "I can take it from here."

The pastel calico nodded and left the den to rejoin the fight. Her eyes flickered across the battle to see where she was needed. She caught sight of a nasty battle on top of the Highledge- Talonstar and Ravenstar versus Shadedstar, Russetstar and a ginger she-cat Lilyheart figured must have been Vixen. She felt cold wrapping around her limbs, felt it chill her mind, and heard Moonkit's whisper: _The time is now. Fulfill our destiny, my sister. I am with you._ Strength flowed through Lilyheart's limbs and she took a deep breath and headed towards Highledge.

A/n: Omgggg this was so much fun to writeeeee! Poor Sparktail, yes? D: Also, I think there will be one, maybe two more chapters and then….. THE EPILOGUE. I have plans for a sequel, yesyesyes. But I'm also planning on starting another story. I don't know what fandom yet, though. Probably not Warriors. Anyways, please please review!


	28. Chapter 27

A/n: Flerderderder 200 reviews! Yes, it finally happened :D Thank you to Mistyflower68 for the 200th review c: READ THIS- Song and her friends stayed with ThunderClan, by the way. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. But she did! So, they're fighting with ThunderClan and RiverClan. Just to clear that up. Yeah.

Lilyheart ducked through the battle, avoiding rogues, ShadowClan warriors and ThunderClan warriors alike as the battle raged through the entire camp, destroying dens and staining the ground red. Dead warriors littered the ground, sickening Lilyheart to the stomach, but she kept running. Not paying attention to her surroundings very much, she found herself nearly run over by a pair of fiercely battling cats. When one pinned the other to the ground, she recognized Nightclaw, broken and bloody, laying beneath the claws of the enemy. He was trying bravely to defend himself, but the WindClan tom was too strong. Lilyheart locked eyes with Nightclaw for a second before the enemy's fangs were buried in his throat. Nightclaw's eyes fell closed.

"No!" The agonized shriek ripped itself from Lilyheart's throat. Suddenly, she was caught by the memories—Laughing with Nightclaw in the apprentice den, sharing fresh-kill, talking to him, hunting… _He was my best friend._ _How did this happen?_ And then, the moments were too short. She wanted to redo everything, to keep her friendship with him. But with each pound of her heart, she knew his time diminished. Each moment could be his last. _Only a few more heartbeats._ Only a few more heartbeats to make everything right again. With a howl of fury, Lilyheart launched herself forward, knocking the tom off of Nightclaw and pinning him to the ground with bloody claws. Baring her fangs, she raised one claw and slashed open his throat. He slumped down, dead. Barely pausing, Lilyheart spun off and dashed to Nightclaw's side. His eyes were dim and his breath faint, but he raised his head a hairlength off the ground.

"Lilyheart?" He whispered.

"Nightclaw." Lilyheart crouched down next to him. "I—I'm so sorry, Nightclaw." She broke down into sobs. "I never should have abandoned you like that…"

"Lilyheart, it's okay." The young she-cat opened her eyes to see Nightclaw watching her with half-closed eyes. "There's nothing to forgive, Lilyheart. I've always cared about you, and I always will. Don't… don't worry…" His head hit the dirt and his eyes closed.

Tears sprang to her eyes, and Lilyheart leaned down, burying her face in his shoulder. "Good-bye, Nightclaw," she whispered. "I will miss you."

_Lilyheart…_ The voice sounded faintly in her mind, clear despite the sounds of battle around her. _Lilyheart, your time is running out. You must hurry!_

_You're right, Moonkit,_ Lilyheart stood and opened her eyes. Curling her claws into the dirt, she forced herself to step over Nightclaw and found herself standing at the bottom of the Highledge. With a deep breath, she began to climb.

The battle on Highledge wasn't going well. Russetstar, Vixen and Shadedstar had Ravenstar and Talonstar cornered. Feeling particularly brave and reckless after witnessing Nightclaw's death, Lilyheart took one step forward. "Russetstar!" She growled.

The ginger she-cat turned with a hiss. Her eyes widened momentarily and she looked shocked, but she quickly covered it with a growl. "So, it's you, is it?" She snarled. "You're StarClan's chosen brat."

Lilyheart felt a comforting presence pressing against her. She glanced to her left to see Icepaw, who nodded at her with a half smile. On the other side, Nightclaw stood with fresh stars in his fur next to Moonkit, who looked regal and majestic in the half-light of dawn. She turned back to Russetstar and narrowed her eyes. "Time to end this," she murmured.

Russetstar chuckled gleefully. "I have nine lives and moons of experience. You cannot win this battle." She turned to the other leaders. "Vixen, Shadedstar, finish these two leaders. I will deal with the—"

Lilyheart sprang forward, using the element of surprise to slam Russetstar against a rock. The she-cat responded with surprising strength and speed, slashing Lilyheart across the cheek. Lilyheart tasted blood, felt it seep into her fur, but she retaliated by leaping straight up and coming down on Russetstar with all claws extended. She landed on the WindClan leader's back and hung on for dear life. Russetstar reared up on her hind legs and smashed Lilyheart against a rock. Dizzy, Lilyheart dropped off and hit the ground, slightly stunned but thinking clearly. Quickly seeing an advantage to the situation, she half-opened her eyes and pretended to be faint and startled.

Russetstar approached slowly, grinning cruelly. "Is this all StarClan can throw at me?" She taunted. "You are nothing, little warrior. I will rid the world of you and then my plans will be assured. You had no chance from the beginning." She stood over Lilyheart now, claws poised for the kill. "You're going to die," she growled. "Prepare to meet StarClan."

Lilyheart closed her eyes as if waiting for the final blow, but lurched her hind legs upward, driving them straight into Russetstar's belly. With a yowl, she flung the ginger she-cat off of her and sent her flying straight off of Highledge where she crashed into the ground and lay still. The clearing fell silent and all the fighting stopped. A rogue took a tentative step forward and sniffed Russetstar's fur. "She's dead!" He called.

"You've killed her!" Shadedstar spat and turned on Lilyheart. "She just wanted peace for the forest. You will pay for that!"

"Wait."

The voice was quiet, but it radiated power. Everyone began looking around, trying to find the source of the voice, but no one could until the morning sun slid over the treetops, casting golden light around it. In the dawn, a shape shimmered into existence. A tall, majestic gray she-cat with blue eyes and starlight in her fur. She stood on the Highledge, facing the crowd below.

"Bluestar," Lilyheart whispered.

The StarClan leader turned with a smile. "Hello, Lilyheart," she purred.

The shocked silence was quickly replaced with cries of, "who are you?" and "why are you here?"

Bluestar turned back to face everyone. "Russetstar was a power-hungry tyrant," she called. "She told some of you she wanted peace for the forest. She told others that she merely wanted to settle a territorial dispute. But truly, her plan was much worse. She wanted to drive out or kill off all three Clans. She told these rogues that she would share her territory with them, but planned to just drive them out after they had done her dirty work. Russetstar would have seen you all dead!" She surveyed the crowd with sad eyes. "And she nearly succeeded."

Lilyheart looked out over the camp and realized that she was right. Dead bodies were everywhere. The cats left alive in the clearing looked barely big enough to be one Clan, let alone four and some rogues.

"What do we do now?" Some cat asked.

Bluestar nodded in acknowledgement of the question. "You must rebuild your Clans. Bury your dead, live in peace. There has not been a Gathering in many moons. Rekindle that tradition. And you," she turned to Vixen, "you are not welcome in this forest. Take your rogues and go."

Vixen's eyes glittered with hatred, but she seemed to realize that she was at a disadvantage and that it would be useless to fight. "BloodClan, to me!" She called, leaping down from the Highledge. Her warriors clustered around her and they fled the scene.

Bluestar dipped her head. "Good luck to you all in repairing your Clans," she called. "We will be with you." And she dissolved into morning mist.

The Clans erupted into noise. Everyone was panicking or close, but Talonstar stood, pushed past Shadedstar, and took his usual place on the Highledge. "Everyone, calm down! It's going to be fine. Everyone, QUIET!" All of the cats fell into an uncomfortable silence. Talonstar nodded. "That's better," he mewed. "Now, everyone separate into your Clans—ThunderClan over there, RiverClan over here, WindClan in that corner and ShadowClan in the other."

Hastily, all the cats began to shuffle to the appropriate areas until the center of camp was empty except for Song and her friends, who stood awkwardly in the middle, unsure of where to go. Song cautiously looked up at Talonstar. "What about us?" She asked.

Talonstar examined each of the four Clan with calculating eyes. "You wish to join a Clan?"

Song nodded. "Yes. We would like to join a Clan."

One of the WindClan warriors stepped forward. "Both our leader and our deputy are dead," he called, "so there is no one to make the decision for us, but these cats fought like true warriors. One spared my life. I would be honored to have them in WindClan."

There were murmurs of ascent from WindClan. Song and Ryn exchanged surprised glances, then Song nodded. "Thank you," she murmured. She stood and she and her friends hesitantly joined the WindClan group. Lilyheart, still on Highledge, stared down in dismay. The Clans were all so… small. Only a pawful or two of cats remained in each.

_Russetstar nearly killed us off,_ she realized. _It almost happened._

Talonstar glanced back behind him to where Shadedstar still stood. "Shadedstar, take your warriors and leave. We will have a Gathering next moon, in peace. May StarClan be with you."

The dark gray tom dipped his head in return, then leaped off of Highledge and led what was left of his Clan out through the shattered remains of the thorn barrier. WindClan's remnants followed, leaving only RiverClan and ThunderClan in the clearing. Talonstar exchanged a glance with Ravenstar, then the black tom stepped forward. Lilyheart, realizing that she was still on the Highledge and feeling slightly awkward about it, jumped down to join the cats, who had left the corners, and gathered in the middle of camp like usual. Sparktail came forward when she got down, and she ran forward and buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered.

"There are ceremonies to be performed, but we first need to pay respects to our dead and clean the camp up a little bit." Talonstar flicked his tail, and the meeting broke up. Cats began to take the dead bodies and line them up beneath the Highledge. Lilyheart helped a little, but it was hard to see her Clanmates dead like this. She found the ThunderClan warriors Whiteblaze and Mudnose as well as Mothear and Mousescar, two RiverClan cats.

Finally, all of the dead had been laid out and had their wounds and fur cleaned up by friends and family. Lilyheart was about to turn away when a flash of gold caught her eye. She looked back, disbelieving. It was Sunheart. "No…" She ran over and crouched down next to him. "No, no, no…" _He can't be dead. I can't believe this._

"I'm so sorry, Lilyheart."

"What?" Tears in her eyes, the she-cat looked behind her and saw Sunheart. His fur was clean and freshly groomed. "Sunheart?" She leaped to her paws and ran toward him, but found she couldn't touch him. He was just an apparition.

"I love you, Lilyheart, and I'm so proud…" He disappeared, leaving Lilyheart feeling empty. When Talonstar called a Clan meeting, she sat down near the edge of the crowd, not wanting to talk to anyone.

_My whole family is gone._

"It is time for the ceremonies," Talonstar mewed. He and Ravenstar sat down next to each other. "We have many ceremonies to perform today. Ravenstar, I believe you wanted to go first?"

"I did." The black tom rose to his paws. "First, we have two warrior ceremonies to perform. Cricketpaw and Flaxpaw, please step forward."

The two small she-cats exchanged excited glances, then came forward. Ravenstar glanced down at the two apprentices, then began, "Flaxpaw and Cricketpaw have proven themselves worthy in this battle, so it is my duty as leader of RiverClan to make them warriors. Flaxpaw, do you promise to uphold the code and protect your Clan, even against friends or at the cost of your life?"

"I do," the gray-and-white she-cat replied, dipping her head.

"Cricketpaw, do you?"

"I do."

"Then beneath StarClan's watchful gaze, I give you your warrior names. Flaxpaw, from now on you will be known as Flaxwing. We honor your quick thinking and courage and welcome you as one of RiverClan's warriors. Cricketpaw, from now on you will be known as Cricketleap. We acknowledge your bright personality and clever hunting skills and welcome you as one of RiverClan's warriors."

"Cricketleap! Flaxwing!" Both Clans chanted the names of the two new warriors. Flaxwing and Cricketleap ducked their heads shyly and retreated into the crowd.

"We also have two apprentice ceremonies," Ravenstar mewed. "Butterflykit and Honeykit, please come forward."

The two sisters bounded out of the crowd and skidded out to stand where Flaxwing and Cricketleap had moments ago.

"Butterflykit, from this moment on you will be known as Butterflypaw. Your mentor will be Streamfall." The two cats touched noses and withdrew.

"Honeykit, from this day forward, you will be known as Honeypaw. Your mentor will be Maplewhisker."

"Butterflypaw! Honeypaw!" The Clan cheered.

Ravenstar dipped his head. "That is all for RiverClan." He sat down and Talonstar got to his paws.

"I have two ceremonies to perform," The ThunderClan leader meowed. "Firstly, Palepaw's mentor was killed in battle. So I must assign him a new mentor. Palepaw, please step forward." The white tom nervously walked forward to stand before Talonstar. "Mudnose was a good mentor to this young apprentice, but his death in battle means that Palepaw needs a new cat to mentor him. This cat will be Lilyheart."

Feeling stunned, Lilyheart rose to her paws and padded through the crowd to touch noses with Palepaw. He had been an apprentice at the same time as her, and now she was his mentor! How did that work? Shaking it off, Lilyheart touched noses with the white tom and they withdrew into the crowd.

"And lastly," Talonstar mewed, "I have one more very important ceremony to perform today. In the battle, we lost our deputy, Sunheart. He will be missed, but we must name a new deputy. I say these words before Sunheart's spirit, so he may hear and approve my choice. Lilyheart killed Russetstar and has proven herself many times before. She will be the new ThunderClan deputy."

"Lilyheart! Lilyheart!" Both Clans cheered her name, leaving her stunned and gaping, still next to Palepaw.

_Me?_ Lilyheart stared up at Talonstar, who gave her a crooked grin. _This is part of Moonkit's destiny. I suppose I have to._ Lilyheart rose to her paws and dipped her head. "I am glad to accept this position," she mewed. "Thank you."

The cats broke up, and Lilyheart turned to find Sparktail behind her. "Congratulations," he purred, licking her ear. "You deserve it."

"Thanks," she replied. "I'm going to take a walk, okay?" _I need to think._

He gave her a long look, then mewed "all right. I'll see you later."

Lilyheart left camp and let her paws lead her along a familiar track through the woods. It was a path to a rise above the lake, where she had come to sit and think before. As she sat down on the hill, a breeze rustled the leaves around her, and she smelled cat-scent. Surprised, she turned to see Moonkit standing before her. "Hello," the StarClan cat mewed.

"Moonkit. I—I did the right thing, didn't I?" She asked. "Accepting the deputyship? I did it to fulfill your destiny, like I'm supposed to."

The silver she-cat blinked. "It is not my destiny any more, sister. It is yours." She leaned forward and touched her nose to Lilyheart's forehead.

_You are Lilyheart, deputy of ThunderClan, daughter of Mintwing and Sunheart, and mate of Sparktail. Your path is your own and your pawsteps are your choice. Tread carefully. _The unfamiliar voice whispered in her ear, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

_My path is my own._

Moonkit evaporated into silver mist, which dissipated in the early leaf-fall air.


	29. Epilogue

A/n: Please read the a/n at the end of the epilogue for all that stuff and everything. Enjoy~!

-Epilogue-

[7 moons later]

"They're adorable, Lilyheart!" Rainbreeze purred. "Three more warriors for ThunderClan."

Lilyheart purred softly, turning to nuzzle the nearest kit, a small black-and-ginger tom. "Thank you. Is Sparktail back from his hunting patrol yet?"

"He just came in." Rainbreeze glanced out of the nursery, then back at Lilyheart. There was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "When Eggpelt told him, he dropped his fresh-kill and bolted. He should be here in—"

"Lilyheart?" Suddenly, the light filtering in from the nursery entrance was blocked and Rainbreeze let out an indignant squeak as she was shoved aside. Sparktail bounded inside, crossing to her nest in a heartbeat, and leaned down, licking her face. "Lilyheart, are you okay? Are the kits all right?"

"We're all fine," Lilyheart murmured, smiling tiredly at him. "Two toms and a she-cat, all healthy."

Sparktail turned his gaze to the three tiny bundles by Lilyheart's belly. "They're beautiful," he purred. "What do you want to name them?"

"Well," Lilyheart mewed thoughtfully, "I was thinking Emberkit for the black-and-ginger tom."

"Perfect," Sparktail agreed. Emberkit made a tiny mewling noise and shifted in his sleep.

"What about this one?" Lilyheart gestured to the other tom, who was dark gray with a fluffy tail.

"How about Stormkit?" Sparktail suggested.

Lilyheart nodded. "And I'm not sure about the last one. She's been sleeping this whole time."

The she-kit rolled over and mewled, blindly waving a paw in the air. She had beautiful, silver fur and a black tip on her tail. On her face, a tiny dark gray marking formed the shape of a crescent moon. She looked almost… Familiar. Lilyheart stared at the kit, struggling to remember.

_Moonkit._

"It's Moonkit."

"What?" Sparktail looked over at her with confusion in his eyes.

"She's Moonkit. Look, she's exactly the same." Lilyheart stared at the newborn kit with wide eyes.

"Then I guess she has a name," Sparktail purred.

"Emberkit, Stormkit and Moonkit," Lilyheart whispered. "Perfect."

*LINEBREAK*

Sparktail's POV

Talonstar stood on the Highledge, with the small remnants of ThunderClan gathered at the base of the Highledge. "As I'm sure everyone knows, there is a Gathering tonight," the ginger tom announced. "And as I'm sure you all _also_ know, Lilyheart will not be attending because she kitted earlier today. Therefore, I want Lightfur to stand in as deputy until she is able to take on the role of deputy again.

"Lightfur! Lightfur! Lightfur!" The senior warrior dipped his head in acknowledgement, and when the cheers died down, Talonstar continued.

"The cats going to the Gathering tonight will be myself, Lightfur, Rainbreeze, Palefrost, Eggpelt, Sparktail, Mossfoot and Brightpaw. All of you, get some rest, have something to eat, et cetera. Patrols are being sent out as usual. That's all." He jumped down from Highledge. Sparktail was planning on visiting the nursery again, so he walked back over. As he was preparing to enter, a small ginger-and-white she-cat squeezed out through the exit.

"Hi, Sparktail!" She mewed happily. "Your kits are really cute!"

"Thanks, Brightpaw," he purred to his apprentice.

"Hey, Sparktail!"

"Wha'?" The warrior turned to see Eggpelt trotting over. "Hey, Eggpelt. What's up?"

"Wanna come hunting?" The white tom grinned.

"Actually, I was about to go visit Lilyheart—"

"You can do that later. C'mon!" Eggpelt marched over and shoved Sparktail in the shoulder.

"Fine, fine!" Chuckling, Sparktail followed his friend out of camp.

They hunted until sunset, when Talonstar called the cats together for the Gathering. Sparktail went to say goodbye to Lilyheart before he left. When he squeezed in, he was met by a surprising sight—Moonkit was on her back, paws in the air, staring brightly at him through wide blue eyes. "She's opened her eyes already!" Sparktail gaped.

Lilyheart nodded, purring. "Snowpelt said it's not that unusual for them to open their eyes the first day. She's just an early birdie." Snowpelt was the other ThunderClan queen at the moment. She had four two-moon-old kits—Darkkit, Marshkit, Applekit and Stonekit.

"Well, I'm leaving for the Gathering. See you tomorrow," Sparktail mewed.

"Say hi to Songstar for me!"

Promising to give the WindClan leader her greeting, Sparktail left the den and bounded over to where Talonstar waited. "Good," Talonstar mewed, "I think we're all here. Let's go!" He set off at a run, leaving the others to follow as best they could. Talonstar was on his last few lives (no one knew the exact number), but he was as quick as he had always been. Sparktail contented himself with trotting behind the rest of the cats. He felt like thinking.

It was amazing how much things had changed since the war. Song and her rogues had been welcomed into WindClan, and Song had even been accepted as their leader after proving herself to the previous leader, Echostar. The Clans, despite all efforts, were still small, and it was making everyone nervous. There was even talk of recruiting rogues from surrounding areas, but it was only a half supported idea. For the moment, though, everything was all right. New-leaf had come, bringing fresh air and plentiful prey, and it had lifted spirits in all four Clans. There had been no trouble from BloodClan.

All was well.

=END-OF-STORY A/N=

**Okay, guys. This is going to be some long, rambly speech about how much I love you all :'D First of all, let me clear one thing up- Yes, there is going to be a sequel. I have it planned out in my head, I know the main characters, and I know who's going to die (muahaha). ANYWAYS. Ffff thank you all for over 200 reviews, all the favorites, and everything else c: You guys are the best. Hugs for you all! Now, screw rambles. Just tell me what you thought! I'm sorry this was short, but I wanted to get it up :3 **


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